An Exception
by Shizuma-chan
Summary: Kei Sakamoto is an introverted, lone piece of anime trash obsessed with the number three who doesn't understand why people like him so much. Second year and student council president of Touou High School, he tries his best to please everyone all the time. He often grows resentful of the challenges thrust upon him, but Aomine Daiki is an exception. AominexMaleOC
1. Chapter 1

If you were to ask any student who attended Touou High School who Kei Sakamoto was, they would be able to tell you without skipping a beat. He was hard to miss, standing at almost 6 ft with light blonde hair, dark green eyes, a lean build and a handsome face, but that isn't why everybody knows him. Every student could probably tell you at least two stories about their screwball student council president, about how he flitted around the school with his tie over his shoulder and his glasses tilted to one side, or how everyone on campus unanimously agreed he had some kind of OCD, but he kept the school running smoothly to achieve his ultimate goal of making sure every student had a positive experience at Touou. They'd tell you that he was the most approachable person you'd ever meet and that you could come to him with any problem and he'd fix it, and that's why he had been given the role as president in his first year. And if you pried a little bit further, they'd tell you how in Kei's second year at Touou, he developed an unusual relationship with the self-centered, lazy, and grumpy Aomine Daiki.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

"What's next on the agenda?" I asked the brown haired student council vice president sitting next to me.

"The complaints regarding the disciplinary committee," she replied handing me a folder.

"What are they claiming?" I asked taking the file from her hands.

"That the committee's punishing students they have a personal dislike for harsher than the others," she answered.

I flipped through the pages of quickly, "I'll review these tonight and render my decision tomorrow. If the complaints are valid I'm going to have to interview each member of the committee, so can you add that to tomorrow's schedule?"

"Yes," she said pulling out her phone.

"Thank you Kamiko, I don't know how I would survive without you," I said.

"I don't know how you would either, I'm the only thing keeping you alive at this point," she said sternly.

"Um, excuse me?" I heard a small voice ask after shyly opening the door.

I looked over and saw three girls in the doorway fidgeting under the pairs of eyes that had turned on them, "We can come back later, I'm sorry to intrude," the girl in the middle said quickly.

"Nonsense," I said getting up and walking over to them, "The student council is here for the students, so this is as much your room as it is ours."

"We really didn't mean to interrupt," the one to the right said softly.

I smiled warmly at her, "The happiness of students at Touou is my number one priority, so feel free to come to me at any time or place with your grievances," my eyes scanned all three of them, "I don't recall seeing any of you before."

"We're first years," the one to the left squeaked out.

I smiled widely, "That's great! Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Sakamoto Kei, the student council president, and I'm elated to serve you this year."

"You make this sound like a host club," Kamiko said from across the room.

I laughed, "You're too rigid, I'm just trying to make our new students feel comfortable," I turned back to the girls, "So, what do I owe the pleasure of having you three lovely ladies entering the council room?"

"Sakamoto-san," the girl in the middle started.

"Call me Kei," I interjected, "And speaking of names, I don't believe I know yours."

"I'm Mai," she said, "That's Maki," she said nodding to the girl on the right, "And that's Masa," she said nodding to the girl on the right.

"It's nice to meet you," I said.

"Kei-san," Mai said blushing, "I'm sorry to bother you about such a trivial matter, but we've been hearing rumors around school that Aomine Daiki isn't going to be allowed to play in official games due to insufficient grades, and we've been fans of him since middle school...I know it's stupid and you probably can't do anything about it…"

"Say no more, I'll do something about it," I reassured them.

She gave me a dumbstruck look before smiling, "Thank you Kei-san!" they all said before running out the door.

"There you go again, promising things you might not be able to deliver," Kamiko chided as I stuck my hands in my pockets and started whistling.

I swung around, "It's something I have to fix anyway. Aomine Daiki was a popular player in his middle school and now he's our basketball team's ace. That means that he probably already has a fan club, and everyone in school's going to be disappointed if he doesn't play. And he's supposedly a prodigy, so our team may not represent our school as well as it could with him," I smiled, "It shouldn't be too hard of a problem to solve, it's only a month into school, how bad can his grades be?"

"They're dismal, except for japanese history," Kamiko said.

"Well then," I said swinging back around, "We'll just get him the best tutor, there should be tons available this early into the year."

"That's already been tried," Kamiko said, "Katsunori-sensei approached me immediately after the school year started to set Aomine up with a tutor because he saw his middle school transcript, in the past month I've set him up with at least twenty tutors and he didn't show up to any of the appointments, so now no one wants to work with him, which isn't a surprise. Katsunori-sensei says he barely shows up to practice, so I guess he takes the same approach with basketball that he does with academics."

I clucked my tongue, "I guess I'm just going to have to deal with with this in person."

"What are you going to do?" Kamiko asked me.

"Don't worry, I got it," I answered walking out of the council room.

"Be back in a half an hour," she said poking her head out the door.

"Sure thing," I said waving my hand.

I hummed as I walked over to the gym, I was assaulted with greetings from students and teachers. A lot of people consider me a very personable and effective student council president, but I just tell them what they want to hear and fix all their problems for them. It's not like I'm some cruel hearted sociopath underneath, it's just that I learned a long time ago that people cooperate better if they're ego's being stroked. I don't have many talents outside of my organization and problem solving skills, so I take my position as student council president very seriously. It's my job to make the student body comfortable and happy, and I'll do anything to achieve that. "Good afternoon!" I said walking into the gym.

"Kei, it's nice to see you, how's your year been so far?" Katsunori-sensei asked.

"Good," I said walking up to him, "But I've been alerted that there may be an issue with your newly acquired ace and his eligibility to play."

"Yeah," he sighed, "Not that Aomine really cares, he's barely even motivated to play."

"Why?" I asked.

Katsunori-sensei started to fiddle with his hair, "He's unmotivated because he doesn't see the point in playing when he doesn't think anyone can beat him."

"Ah, the typical sports prodigy's backstory, you're either too good or not good enough," I said.

Katsunori-sensei gave me a weird look, "I've seen enough sports anime to tell, trust me on this," I said to him.

He let out a small chuckle, "You're an odd one Kei, but I would imagine that your presence means that you found a way to get Aomine's grades up."

"Of course, I don't want to step on your toes sensei, but let me handle this," I said.

"Go for it, I don't how to get through to that boy," he said.

"Well now that I have your blessing, which one is he?" I asked.

"The first years got their jerseys today, they got excited and decided to practice in them, all except for Aomine," he replied.

"Kousuke's wearing his jersey," I pointed out.

"Wakamatsu got excited too and put his jersey on as well," he explained.

"That sounds like him," I commented.

"Good luck," Katsunori-sensei said.

I looked at him as I walked backwards towards the court, "You do realize my name means lucky right? I got this," I said right before I tripped on a basketball.

"Still as coordinated as ever," a voice said in a sarcastic tone.

I looked at the black haired captain, "Still as sincere as ever," I shot back at him.

Imayoshi chuckled, "What brings you here today, Aomine I'm guessing?"

"That would be correct," I said.

"Captain, who's this?" a honey brown haired boy asked Imayoshi.

Imayoshi turned to him, "This is Kei, he's president of the student council."

The boy turned to me with frightened eyes, "S-s-orry Sakamoto senpai, I'm so sorry, I didn't know who you were, sorry, sorry."

"It's fine…" I said.

"SORRY! I'm Sakurai Ryou, sorry," he said introducing himself.

"It's nice to meet you Sakurai, just call me Kei," my eyes trailed down to his jersey, "I see you're number 9."

"Yeah," he said in a low voice.

"Nine is a nice number," I said lovingly.

"Oh god, here we go again," I heard Susa say in the background.

I ignored him, "I think it's a nice number too," Sakurai said, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, sorry."  
I smiled, "It's 3 squared."

"Yeah," he agreed with me.

"It's three times the three," I said.

"Yeah?" he said looking at Imayoshi.

"Three's the best number," I smiling to myself.

"You're weird Kei, and you're creeping out my first year," Imayoshi said.

I gave him an insulted look, "The kid just apologized to me twenty times in three sentences, let us be weird together."

Imayoshi laughed as Sakurai cringed, "Sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry about being sorry, you're pretty interesting, I'd like to meet your family one day," I said.

"Weren't you looking for our other first year starter?" Imayoshi asked.

"Yeah, where is this ace I've been hearing so much about?" I asked.

"Over there," Imayoshi said nodding over to the back corner of the gym, "Chatting up a girl when he should be practicing."

"Great, thanks Imayoshi," I said walking over to Aomine, who had one girl pressed up against him and another looking on angrily at him.

Getting a look at him, it wasn't hard to believe why girls were flocking to him. His skin tone was sexy as hell, and that deep navy blue hair only made it worse. He was tall and those muscles, those muscles are inhuman. _I bet he has great stamina._ Wait. No. Bad Kei. We're not here to ogle the problematic first year, we're here to help him...forcefully if need be. "Aomine?" I said walking up to him.

He looked at me with an unimpressed expression before turning back to the girl, "I'm sorry about him," the pink haired girl with an angry look on her face said to me.

"It's okay, I wasn't expecting any less from what I've heard about him so far," I told her.

"What do you need him for?" she asked.

"Ah how rude of me, I'm Kei, the student council president. I'm here to try and sort out his grades," I answered her.

"I'm Momoi Satsuki, the basketball team's manager," she said.

"I take it you're a first year, I'd remember a face that's as pretty as yours," I said to her.

Momoi blushed and clutched her clipboard, "Yeah, I'm a first year."

It was at that moment that the girl close to Aomine jerked her head around and I recognized her, "Kei you're such a charmer," she said walking over and putting her hand on my arm.

"Yuka, I didn't realize it was you," I said taking a piece of her now blonde hair in my hands, "You dyed your hair?"

She giggled, "Yeah, do you like it?"

"I love it," I said smiling.

"So how was your break?" she asked twirling a piece of her hair.

"It was good," I said.

"You liar! I bet you stayed in your room the whole time and watched anime," she teased me.

I laughed, "That might be true."

She pressed up against me, "Well I'm glad you didn't get out too much and get a tan, you have the most beautiful complexion Kei, your skin's like cream."

"Hey you," Aomine suddenly said, "What the hell do you want with me?"

 _Oh god his voice is deep too._ No. Focus Kei. Focus. "Kei senpai's here to help with your grades," Momoi answered for me.

"Oh," he smirked, "And how are you gonna do that?"

"Simple. I'm going to tutor you," I answered.

"Lucky," Yuka pouted to Aomine, "I wish I could get our busy president to tutor me privately."

"No you don't," I laughed, "I'm a pretty average student."

"If you're not smart, how do you think you're gonna teach me?" Aomine challenged me.

I smiled, "I'm not planning to turn you into a top scoring student if that's what you mean, all you need is a passing grade to play basketball right?"

"Tch," Aomine responded.

"How does tomorrow at lunch sound?" I asked.

"Whatever," Aomine grumbled, walking away from me.

"It's a date then!" I yelled after him.

"I'll try and get him to come, but I can't promise anything," Momoi said to me.

I looked at her, "Don't worry about a thing, he's not your responsibility for the next couple months, he's mine."

 **Aomine's POV:**

I looked at the guy in front of me, he was tall, probably some washed out basketball player I didn't have time for, and he looked way too nice. _Weak._ I looked away from him and focused back on the chick that had her boobs pressed against my arm, "Aomine your arms are so hard, how long did you have to work out to get them that way?" she asked me.

"My workouts last for hours," I said smirking at her.

She giggled and my eyes flickered over to Satsuki and that irritating guy. Was she blushing? Who the fuck does he think he is? Yuka's eyes followed mine and seconds later I heard her go, "Kei, you're such a charmer."

In a blink of an eye she was attached to _his_ arm and he was touching her hair. I really didn't like this guy. " I'm glad you didn't get out too much and get a tan, you have the most beautiful complexion Kei, your skin's like cream," I heard her say.

What the hell? This bitch was just pressing her chest into me talking about how sexy _my_ skin tone was. Screw this guy, "Hey you, what the hell do you want with me?" I said.

He looked at me with a kind expression while Satsuki answered in a pissed off tone, "Kei senpai's here to help with your grades."

So he was one of those tutors, "Oh," I said condescendingly, "And how are you gonna do that?

"Simple, I'm going to tutor you," was his response.

I ground my teeth in annoyance. _So he thought it was going to be that easy?_ "-I'm a pretty average student," I heard him say.

 _Then why the fuck was he here?_ "If you're not smart, then how do you think you're gonna teach me?" I scoffed.

He smiled at me, and I could tell it was a genuine one, not like the ones Imayoshi doles out. I was tempted to tell the guy to screw off and that we weren't friends, but he spoke before I could say it, "I'm not planning to turn you into a top scoring student if that's what you mean, all you need is a passing grade to play basketball right?"

That confused me, I was sure I had this guy sussed out as a dense blonde who didn't know his place. Now he was telling me that all he wanted to do was help me play basketball. _Is he just messing with me?_ "Tch," was all I could manage to say.

"How does tomorrow at lunch sound?" he asked.

"Whatever," I said walking away.

"It's a date then!" he shouted after me.

 _You didn't even say where dumbass._ Tch, not like I would actually show up, "Aomine!" I heard someone else call my name after I left the gym.

I heard a giggle next to me, "Don't walk so fast," Yuka said.

I glared at her, "Get lost, I don't like loose girls around me."

"Excuse me?" she said.

"You heard me," I said plainly, "Go wrap yourself around that other guy, or any guy in the school cause it doesn't seem like you're that picky."

"Look Aomine," she huffed, "You're attractive, but Kei's great boyfriend material. He's student council president, he's nice and attentive, he has a job, and he hasn't had a girlfriend since middle school, so I'm going to flirt with him any time I get the chance. As will any other girl that goes to this school."

She huffed one last time, "Have fun with him tomorrow, you get to be in a place any girl would kill for."

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

Kamiko tapped her fingers on the table in rapid succession as she glanced at the clock, "It's 1:20, he was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

I hummed happily, "I know that."

"Our lunch time is almost halfway finished, what are you going to do Mr. President?" she asked me.

"Hand me the phone," I asked her.

She took the classroom phone and punched in the number for the school intercom, "How did you know?" I asked her sweetly.

"I've been your vice president for a while now," she answered.

Once I got connected I said in a cheery voice, "Hello students of Touou High, this is your president speaking. I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I'm searching for a missing student by the name of Aomine Daiki. To express how much I need to find him I've found it appropriate to serenade him," I cleared my throat, " _It's a quarter after one, I'm alone and I need you now~ Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now~ And I don't know how I can do without~ I just need you now~"_

I stopped singing and said into the phone, "Thank you all for putting up with that, and remember, if Aomine Daiki happens to be near you, please stare at him awkwardly until he goes to the student council room, it's a matter of life and death."

I hung up the phone, "It's a quarter after one and I'm gonna bet we're getting suspended," Kamiko said.

I laughed, "I doubt it, I think most teachers who've had him as a student are done with him at this point."

"You knew he wouldn't show up didn't you?" she asked.

I tilted back in my seat, "Of course, he didn't show up for any other tutors so why would I be any different?"

"You planned to use that song from the very beginning didn't you?" Kamiko said accusingly.

"Guilty," I said regretfully, "But can you blame me? It was too tempting."

"You can be quite juvenile at times ," Kamiko jabbed at me.

"Only when the situation calls for it of course," I said getting back to my paperwork.

Fifteen minutes later I heard a loud voice shout from down the hallway, "WHERE IS THAT BASTARD?"

"That'll be him," I said to Kamiko, "I'M IN HERE DEAR!" I yelled.

 **Aomine's POV:**

I died a little inside as I heard the voice sing over the intercom. Sure I figured that guy would be a little more relentless than the others, but this? I didn't think he'd resort to something this embarrassing, and to himself no less. Except he wasn't embarrassing himself, everyone around me was giggling and saying, " _Kei's so funny isn't he? I'm so glad we have a president like him."_

And then came the staring, everyone's eyes turned on me and I stood up angrily from my desk. "Sakurai, where's the student council room?"

"T-t-wo rights and a left from the gym, sorry," he answered.

I stormed down the hallways until I reached the one Sakurai had told me about, problem was that he didn't tell me which room it is and I wasn't in the mood to politely check what was behind each door. "WHERE IS THAT BASTARD?" I yelled, earning looks from students passing by the hall.

"I'M IN HERE DEAR," I heard a couple seconds later.

I saw red as I stomped over to the door and slammed it open, "You," I seethed once I saw the blonde sitting at the table.

He smiled at me, "Just the person I was looking for! Let the authorities know this child has been found Kamiko!"

I walked over and slammed by hands on the table, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't pound my fist into your face?"

"Because the head of the disciplinary committee's due to be here for a meeting any moment," the brown haired girl next to Kei answered.

"Kamiko has all the answers, she's like my own Momoi," Kei smiled.

"What was the point of doing that when there's only ten minutes of lunch left?" I asked him, curling my fist into a ball.

He tilted his head and laughed, "To show you that you need to show up of course, and to give you this," he said pulling out a notebook.

"What's that?" I scowled.

"Sit," he said patting the seat next to him.

I grunted and begrudgingly sat down next to him. He slid the notebook over to me and said, "I outlined the important topics we need to go over and made a list of the materials you need to bring tomorrow."

I opened the notebook to see pages filled with different subjects and references, "You did all this?" I muttered the question.

He nodded. _Damn I can't be mad at him now._ "They're running late, it's not like them," I heard Kamiko comment.

"Who's running late?" Kei asked.

"The disciplinary committee you dimwit," I scoffed.

"Oh they're not coming," Kei said.

"Why?" Kamiko asked.

"Because I reviewed the reports and found them to be true, so I had Imayoshi straighten them out, you know how he's a people person," Kei said.

"You mean he's scary and threatening?" Kamiko asked.

"I like to think of it as he has mannerisms that convince people to do the right thing," Kei said.

"You could've let me know," Kamiko said bitterly.

He turned to me and my look of disbelief, "But it was such a good reason for "'someone"' not to beat me up," he said booping my nose.

"Don't touch me," I snapped at him.

"Are you mad because I didn't make the noise?" Kei laughed.

"Shut up," I growled.

I looked up when the bell rang and immediately went to go leave the room, taking the notebook with me, "Aomine," I heard Kei say.

I looked back at him, "The library, after school tomorrow okay?"

"Hmph," I grunted as I left. If he thought this was over he was far from right, I wasn't about to submit to anyone. _The only one who can beat me is me._

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

"So Mr. President, what do we do now? The problematic child failed to appear in the library," Kamiko said.

"Of course he did," I said.

"And I suppose you knew this was going to happen too?" she asked me unconvinced.

"Yes, because yesterday was just the first battle in many that I am sure to come, and I don't take Aomine as the type of person to go down without a fight," I said.

"Isn't this taking up too much time? You should just give up on him," Kamiko said.

"I've only met one problem in my life that I couldn't fix and I'm not about to make Aomine Daiki my second," I replied.

She looked at me intently before replying, "You like this, you like him."

I smiled, "A little bit yeah."

"Is it because he's so different from someone like you, who deals with everyone's issues like his own?" she asked.

I tilted my chair back, "I suppose the thought of being that carefree is an attractive one."

"Not to the extent of him I hope, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd much rather you the way you are now," Kamiko said.

"Aww, Kamiko, you really do love me," I laughed, "Pushing all that that aside, there will be a lot of people disappointed if Aomine doesn't get to play, so I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening."

"And you're sure you're not doing it to help the boy?" she asked, giving me a sideways glance.

"For someone who's dedicated enough time to something to be labeled as a prodigy and an ace, he seems lacking in passion," I contemplated.

"Well that's his problem not yours," she said.

"He's not fighting for it at all," I continued.

"Maybe he doesn't want to play basketball anymore," she said, "Either way, you need to stop putting pressure on yourself to help people or else you're going to have a stroke by the time you're thirty."

I grinned, "I'd love to take your advice, but I'm afraid I can't because without solving things I'd be completely devoid of personality."

"That's not true, you're a dork," she said.

I laughed and she sighed, "Look Kei, you're an extremely kindhearted person and most people can see that, hence they adore you, but Aomine? I don't think he's the type of person who can appreciate what you do for people, he probably thinks you're some weak willed twig."

I smiled and stood up, "Thanks for looking out for me Kamiko."

"Where are you going?" she asked me.

I grinned mischieviously, "What any good president would do during a war, I'm going to gather intel from a spy hidden deep behind enemy lines."

Said spy was a certain pink haired girl, who as the manager of the basketball team, would most definitely be in the gym. And in the gym she was, "Momoi," I called out to her.

She looked up and blushed, "Oh hi, Kei senpai."

"You can drop the honorific, we're nearly besties by now aren't we?" I said.

"We've only met each other once before," she laughed.

"So? That's all it takes for me to know if I like someone or not," I said.

She blushed and looked down at her clipboard, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need your help," I said.

"My help? With what?" she asked.

I laughed and rubbed the back of my head, "Aomine."

She frowned, "Did he not show up again? Do you want me to get him?"

"Relax," I said, "No he didn't, but I have a feeling after yesterday he has ensconced himself somewhere away from prying eyes, do you know a place like that?"

"The roof," Momoi said, "His favorite spot is the roof."

"Thanks," I said patting her on the head before heading out of the gym and around the building.

I climbed the ladder to the roof and lo and behold, Aomine was there. Sleeping. I chuckled softly to myself and walked over to him, bending down on my knees I poked his cheek, "Ao-mi-ne," I said, relishing in the fact there were three syllables in his name.

He groaned and swatted my hand away in his sleep. I bent down even further to blow in his ear and wake him up, but ended up yelping in surprise when he grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him. I struggled to get out of his grasp, but I was locked in an iron grip and the more I attempted to escape, the further he shoved my face into his chest. I gave up after a couple of minutes because I am weak, and I actually started to relax for the first time in weeks. Don't get me wrong, the fact that Aomine was warm, smelled good, and kept brushing his thumb up and down on my back was soothing, it was also the silence. The sun was shining but there was a breeze, and Aomine's thumb kept going up and down, up and down, up and down. I found myself falling asleep...until I heard the footsteps. As soon as I heard them climbing up the ladder I started to try and break free again, because even if I didn't get away in time, it would look less creepy than if I was curled up sleeping to him. "Kei?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

"Momoi," I said trying to crane my head upwards only to be shoved back into Aomine's chest by his hand.

"Remain calm," she said, "He does this a lot in his sleep, he sort of just grabs anyone who walks by."

"This is normal?" I asked.

"I think it's his unconscious telling him he needs to admit he likes cuddling," Momoi said.

I let out a muffled laugh, "See, I knew I liked you Momoi."

"Can you rotate so you're on your other side?" Momoi asked.

"Yeah," I said maneuvering myself so Aomine was basically spooning me.

"Just stay like that and you'll be fine," Momoi said.

"This doesn't feel fine," I replied.

Aomine's hand came over my hip and alongside the small dip in my waist, letting out a low moan in my ear, "This doesn't feel fine," I said with more urgency.

"Don't worry," she said.

Aomine's hand searched around my chest, "Flat," he mumbled in my ear before letting me go completely and turning on his other side.

I stood up quickly, "I am both offended and relieved."

Momoi gave out a faint laugh, "If there's one thing you can count on Dai-chan for it's for being a pervert, he usually doesn't hold onto guys that long though, it's just you're...umm..it's just that you're um...you have a nice body" she squeaked out.

"What about Tetsu," the now awake Aomine asked while yawning.

Momoi's eyes widened and she looked at me saying, "I'm sorry Kei, you're so sweet and handsome, but my heart belongs to another."

"What a shame," I laughed.

"What are you doing out here?" Momoi testily asked Aomine.

Aomine yawned, "I was reading one of Mai-chan's interviews and I fell asleep."

Momoi glared at the magazine laying next to him, "You're not even supposed to have those types of _reading materials_ in school anyway."

Aomine grunted, "We have the student prez right here and he hasn't mentioned anything about it."

"You really aren't supposed to have that on campus," I chimed in.

Aomine smirked, "I'm not even sure you like girls Kei, I heard that you haven't had a girlfriend since middle school."

"Dai-chan stop it," Momoi chided him, "Kei's not gay, are you?" she said looking at me.

"Why does it matter, I thought your heart belonged to another," I laughed.

"My heart's curious right now," she said.

"I'm not gay," I said.

"Oh," she breathed.

"I'm bi."

 **Aomine's POV:**

I woke up to Satsuki telling Kei he had a nice body. _What the hell? She's only known him for three days_. If I only knew one thing right now, it's that I didn't want Kei and Satsuki involved because I wanted Kei as far away as possible from me. "What about Tetsu?" I asked knowing it would get her back on track.

I gave myself a mental pat on the back when she started blubbering about how her heart belonged to him. But then she turned to me and I knew she was going to start digging into me about my mags. "We have the student prez right here and he hasn't mentioned anything about it," I said thinking as a fellow guy, Kei would back me up.

But he didn't, "I'm not even sure you like girls Kei, I heard that you haven't had a girlfriend since middle school," I said in retaliation. _Take that._

I laughed as Satsuki freaked out and questioned him about it. _Girls are so easy to work up, of course he's not-_ "I'm bi."

I choked on my own spit and coughed for two minutes straight, "Really?" I heard Satsuki ask him loudly. _I never thought I'd be remotely right. It was a joke Kei._

"Yeah," Kei laughed it off like he did everything, like he just told her what he had for breakfast.

"So, so, have you had a boyfriend before?" Satsuki asked tentatively.

I stared at him with wide eyes, he smiled and said, "Yep, I had a pretty serious one last year, but he wanted to keep it quiet so only a few people knew."

 _I don't know what to say. I want to punch him, it was a joke._ I unconsciously inched away from him and he sighed in exasperation, "What Aomine? You think just because I like guys too I'm going to hit on you?" he chuckled, "You're hot Aomine, but you're an asshole."

I was grateful for my dark skin because these two can't see how red my cheeks got. Thankfully my mouth kicked in and I smirked saying, "But you think I'm hot."

Kei laughed and then sighed, "How do you deal with him?" he asked Satsuki.

"Oi," I said.

"He's like a brother to me," she said.

"Oi, stop talking about me like I'm not here," I said more aggressively.

"You two have known each other a long time?" Kei asked.

"Yeah, we're neighbors so we grew up together," Satsuki answered.

"Ah, the sibling bond, I always wondered what it was like," he sighed.

"You're an only child?" Satsuki asked.

Kei nodded, "And I live alone now."

"You live alone!" Satsuki nearly yelled.

'Yeah, my parents work overseas, so I live in my own apartment," he answered.

"What's that like?" Satsuki asked.

"It's a lot of upkeep, but I actually got a new next door neighbor that's almost in the same situation, so I don't have a bunch of old people in my business," he laughed.

Kei's laugh would be annoying if he didn't put his whole self into it. His mouth opened up all the way and his eyes almost closed, and small tremors emerged all around his body. _Cute._ No. That's not the word. _Admirable._ Yeah, that's the one. "Dai-chan, you go to the library with Kei to study," Satsuki commanded me.

"Don't feel like it," I said leaning back on the ground and closed my eyes.

"DAI-" she started to shout, I opened one of my eyes to see Kei stop her with his hand and then lock eyes with me, "You win today Aomine, but tomorrow is another day," he said.

"Whatever," I snorted.

"See you around Momoi," I heard him say and then descend down the ladder.

"Dai-chan, I don't understand why you're giving him such a hard time," Satsuki sighed.

"Just cause," I grunted.

"Are you blushing?" she asked me.

"No," I said firmly.

"You are," she insisted.

"It's not because I like him or anything, just knowing someone like that finds me attractive is nice, it's the same reaction that I'd have if a hot girl said I was hot, don't be sexist Satsuki," I said.

"Okay, okay," she giggled, "Don't get so defensive, I think your crush is cute."

 _Shut up._

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

" _Kagami was disappointing"_

That's what I said to Satsuki after my one on one with Kagami. I said it in a passive tone, but the rage inside me bubbled just beneath the surface, threatening to boil over. It got worse when we went back to the gym, I took some of Sakurai's lunch thinking it might help distract me. Chew. _You shouldn't have gotten your hopes up._ Swallow. _You knew better, you knew he wasn't going to be able to hold a match to you, he'll give up like all the rest of them._

It wasn't working, I needed to get out of here and blow off some steam. I eyed one of my mags on the floor and picked it up saying, "This is what I came here for."

I was about to leave when Wakamatsu grabbed me by the collar, "You should be at practice regularly!" he screamed in my face.

I snapped, who does he think he's talking to? He could practice for the rest of his life and never be as good as I am right now. I kicked him sharply in the stomach, and made a point in telling him that. I picked up a basketball and dunked it so hard it broke the basket, telling them to bother me when they're better than me. I walked out of the gym seeing the last person I wanted to see. I looked at Kei's shocked expression. _Where's your smile now?_

 **Kei's POV:**

I had walked to the gym because Momoi let me know that Aomine was back and I felt it was the perfect time to corner him. What I came upon however, was not what I expected. I stood in the doorway and watched Aomine knee Kousuke in the stomach and break a basketball hoop. He walked past me with a scowl, hitting my shoulder as he did so, "Kou, are you okay?" I asked the blonde clutching his stomach.

"Yeah," he said in a pained voice, "I'm fine, just stay away from him Kei."

I turned around to run after Aomine, "KEI!" I heard Kousuke yell after me.

"Aomine wait!" I shouted after the blue haired male that was speed walking away.

"What do you want?" he asked angrily.

"What do I want?" I repeated, "To talk to you about what just happened because apparently no one else will."

Aomine pushed me against the door of the library, "Look, when are you gonna get it? We're not friends."

"Good," I shot back, "Because I'm not feeling in a friendly chit chat kinda mood."

"Do you have no regard for anyone but yourself?!" I continued, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What I want," Aomine shouted back at me.

"Yeah that's exactly the problem, you just can't hit people in the stomach and break school property! WHO DO YOU THINK PAYS FOR THAT?! WHO DO YOU THINK SUFFERS NOW THAT YOUR TEAM CAN ONLY USE HALF A COURT UNTIL IT'S REPLACED?! HOW DO YOU THINK IT MAKES KATSUNORI-SENSEI LOOK WHEN HE CAN'T CONTROL HIS TEAM?!" I screamed until my voice went hoarse because the person standing in front of me was the physical representation of everything I was against.

"Tch, fuck off," he said bursting into the library.

I followed him, thanking whatever god made the librarian not be in there, "That's all you all you have to say?" I asked grabbing his elbow.

He pushed me off him roughly throwing me against a bookcase and pinning me tightly against the spines of the books. My glasses had fallen on the floor, but I saw blue, blue that I registered as Aomine's eyes. My breath hitched as my blurry vision amplified the feeling of Aomine's calloused fingers on my cheek. It felt like time was frozen before Aomine pushed me away again, although this time the bookcase didn't take too kindly to my 6 ft frame being shoved up against it and started to tip over. Time sped up again when I heard the high pitched scream on the other side of us.

 **Aomine's POV:**

I regretted it the instant I pushed him away. Not because of the bookshelf tipping over, but because I missed the feel of his skin. I never realized how mesmerizing his emerald eyes were before, I understood now why he could get people to do what he wanted so easily. He was trying to understand, and that was comforting. He knew nothing, and that was also comforting. I clawed him as soon as I heard the girl scream, but he had already jumped around to push her out of the way.

I saw the girl fall to the floor next to me, and Kei emerged from the fallen bookcase with the side of his head bleeding. "Kei!" the girl shrieked running over to him, "We need to get you to the infirmary."

"The books," Kei mumbled.

The girl glared at me saying, "Aomine can take care of that."

She shuffled him out of the library and left me alone. I kicked the bookcase all the way to the floor. _Fuck._ As I put things back into place, my mind couldn't help but wander to him. _Was he okay? Tch, how would I know? Like I said, we're not friends right? Fuck it Daiki, why the hell do have to screw everything up?_

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

As I walked up to my apartment door, a sense of relief washed over me. Today had been...confusing at best, and the thought of curling up in my bed alone with nobody to bother me was soothing. I heard familiar heavy footsteps walk up the stairs behind me, "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," a tired voice greeted me back.

I looked to the tall redhead next to me, "Long day?" I asked.

"You have no idea," he said.

"What happened here?" he asked, poking the bandage stuck on the side of my forehead.

I winced as it throbbed, "Long story."

I looked at his legs which were wrapped, "What happened?" I asked lightly kicking him.

He grimaced, "Long story."

I laughed, "I see, what a pair we make."

"Kei, did you ever try that pasta recipe I gave you?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was great," I said recalling the meal.

"Did I give you the sauce recipe to go with it?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"What? You've gotta try it, I was going to make it tonight because I'm not allowed to play basketball with my leg injury," he said.

I laughed, "You? Not play basketball? It must be a cold day in hell because that's all I've heard you talk about since we became neighbors, basketball this, basketball that."

He chuckled, "Did you want to come over and help me make the sauce, and keep me from going to the basketball court, because if I play again my coach is gonna kill me."

I smiled, "Taiga, you just mentioned food, of course I'm coming over."


	2. Chapter 2

**Aomine's POV:**

I had been trying my best to avoid him for the past three days. Problem was, this guy was everywhere. Every time I walked out of class he was there, chatting with students or running down the hallway. I could barely walk anywhere without hearing someone call his name or talk about him. And the worst part was, I would walk past him and he would smile at me like I wasn't the person who was responsible for the large bandage on the side of his head, and I would scurry away like a rat before he could approach me. That wasn't like me, this wasn't the behavior of Aomine Daiki, but I couldn't react any other way. It'd be one thing if I had injured Wakamatsu, he's an ass, but Kei was nice, and he hadn't done anything but tried to look out for me and the basketball team. He was so nice. It pissed me off.

I was on my way to the roof when I turned a corner and saw Kei surrounded by a group of girls, "Kei-kuunnn, tell us how you really got this?" a girl next to him whined.

"I hope it doesn't scar," another one added.

Kei smiled, "I already told you the truth, I got clipped by a falling bookcase."

"We heard Aomine attacked you," one girl said.

"Yeah, we heard that he assaulted you from the girl you saved," another protested.

Kei grinned wider, "That's not what happened."

"So she's a liar?" the girl questioned.

Kei laughed, "I think it was just a misunderstanding, she's just confused on what happened. Can you blame her? It must've been a traumatizing experience."

"You're right," the girl said hugging his arm and then swooning, "But it would've been way more traumatic without you Kei."

Ugh. As a star basketball player, I've had my fair share of girls throwing themselves at me, but with Kei it was nonstop. I found it annoying even if I wasn't the one being afflicted by them. He spotted me, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up sign. I scowled as I shrugged away to the roof.

The thought of him wouldn't leave me even when I got to the roof, it'd be so much easier to brush it off if he was a jerk.

 _You just had to lash out on him didn't you?_

 _You can try and justify it all you want, but that doesn't change what happened._

 _You need to apologize._

 _You need to make it up._

"Fuck," I muttered before I stomped down from the roof.

 **Kei's POV:**

I was filling out paperwork in the student council room when I heard the door open. Assuming it was just Kamiko I ignored it until the absence of footsteps in the room caught my attention. I looked up and smiled as I saw Aomine peering through a crack in the door with a scowl on his face. Resting my chin on my hand and smiling, I said cheerfully, "Good afternoon Aomine, what can I help you with today?"  
He stepped into the room tentatively, like a cat testing its footing. Never letting his eyes rest on me, he answered in a soft grunt, "You know, for the tutoring thing."

I smiled wider, "I see, come sit next to me," I said patting the seat next to me, "Did you bring the materials?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah," Aomine said sitting down.

"Ah, it's so nice to see you motivated towards your academics," I said happily.

He glared at me, "Like hell, I'm only here as an apology for what happened a couple days ago."

I kept smiling, "Well at least you've seen the error of your ways."

He frowned, "That didn't happen either, look, I'm only sorry for what I did to you."

I smiled softly and sighed, "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" I asked, ruffling his hair.

He jerked away from me, "Don't touch my hair.'

I laughed, "Why? Having senpai ruffle your hair is one of life's greatest pleasures."

"Not for me," Aomine grumbled.

I chuckled, "So you're not just a problematic child, you're also an uncooperative kouhai."

"What did you call me?" Aomine asked narrowing his eyes.

"A problematic child, it's my nickname for you," Kamiko answered as she walked in and sat down, "And if you don't like it, I suggest you stop acting like one and I'll stop."

"As cutthroat as ever," I commented.

"And you," she said turning to me, "Shouldn't you be focused more on tutoring and less on teasing him?"

"You're right," I said smiling and turning to Aomine, "I shouldn't squander my time when he actually came willingly today."

 **Aomine's POV:**

I shuddered as I felt Kei's cold hands run through my hair, they felt good against the warmth that protruded from my scalp because of the hot summer day. I immediately moved away from him mumbling, "Don't touch my hair."

He giggled, "Why? Having senpai ruffle your hair is one of life's greatest pleasures."

Please don't tell me that Kei has some kind of senpai complex. "Not for me," I said back.

He laughed, "So you're not just a problematic child, you're also an uncooperative kouhai."

Okay, now he was just teasing me. "What did you call me?" I asked.

"A problematic child, it's my nickname for you," the vice president said walking into the room.

I glared at her as she sat down, I didn't like her. She was always giving me dirty looks and telling Kei to stop bothering with me. "If you don't like it, I suggest you stop acting like one," I heard her say.

I scowled, "Shouldn't you be more focused on tutoring him," she said turning to Kei.

My attention turned back to Kei as he smiled and looked at me, "You're right, I shouldn't squander my time when he actually came willingly today."

 _Willingly?_

 _I didn't come willingly._

 _You practically guilt tripped me into this._

"Okay!" Kei said clapping his hands together, "Let's get down to business."

"Sure," I said unenthusiastically.

"First thing's first," he said placing a pencil next to me.

"I already have two," I said.

"I know, but that's not enough," he said.

"Yes, it is," I said.

"But what if this one breaks and the other one gets dull?" he asked, "If you have three then you would still have a backup."

"You could say that for any number of pencils," I argued.

"But three's your best bet, it's such a wonderful number. Not too small and not too large," he said wistfully.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He just stared off into space at my question, "Kei?" I asked, waving my hand in front of his face.

"He's fine, just give him a minute. He really loves the number three," Kamiko said.

"You're strange," I said to the spaced out blonde next to me.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

Things had continued with Aomine in the same manner they did the first day he came for tutoring. He walked tentatively into the room, sat down, and I continued teasing him so that he would actually focus on his work instead of talking to me. That was until he didn't come one day. "The problematic child hasn't shown up today," Kamiko commented.

"I wasn't expecting him to," I hummed.

"Oh, and why is that?" she asked me.

"There's a basketball game today," I answered.

"And he's playing?" she asked.

"I would assume so, he is our ace after all," I said.

"Can you take these to the kendo club?" Kamiko asked me.

"Sure, what are they?" I asked.

"Extra release and liability forms, they had so many people sign up this year they ran out," she answered.

"That's unusual," I said.

"It's to be expected, a lot of sports clubs got the members that would usually sign up for basketball," she said.

"Did they have too many people sign up this year?" I questioned.

"No," she said handing me the papers, "The opposite in fact, the basketball club's membership went down nearly 10%."

"I see," I said bringing my hand to my mouth, "I wonder why that is, I thought we had a pretty popular program, do we need to readjust the budget?"

Kamiko gave me a small smile, "No, if anything would need to change it would be Aomine."

I looked at her, "Please don't tell me he assaulted the 10%."

She sighed, "It's nothing like that. Logically, there are a number of students who signed up just because of Aomine right?"  
"Yeah," I said.

"Then there are just as many if not more that didn't bother to sign up because of him; seniors that know they won't get starting positions because of him, first years know that they'll never measure up, and then you have the vast number of students that hold a grudge against him because of the havoc his middle school team caused," Kamiko explained.

"I guess I understand," I said sighing.

"You should, doesn't a close friend of yours have the same situation?" she asked.

"Yeah," I laughed.

"Now, those papers aren't going to deliver themselves," she said shooing me away.

On my way back from the kendo club, my phone rang, "Kei here," I said cheerfully.

"Kei? It's Momoi," I heard on the other line.

"It's nice to hear from you, but aren't you guys in the middle of a game?" I asked.

"Um, yes," she said.

"Is anything wrong?" I asked, stopping in the middle of the hall I was walking down.

I heard her sigh, "It's Aomine, he didn't show up to the first half of the game, I called him and he said he'd be here by the start of the second half, but I don't have much faith in him."

"Is he still on campus?" I asked.

"When I called him a couple minutes ago he was on the roof," she answered.

"Do you want me to go get him?" I offered.

"Kei," she whined, "You don't know how much you'd be helping me out."

I laughed, "No worries, I'll get him there."

 **Aomine's POV:**

I had just got off the phone with Satsuki and was settling down into another nap when I heard someone coming up the ladder. I opened one of my eyes before closing it again. _Whoever it is can leave me alone, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon._

 _Tetsu's "new light" isn't worth my time._

I was close to drifting off when I felt someone poke my cheek. One, two, three times. I opened my eyes lazily and saw Kei's beaming smile bore down on me. "We have to go," he said.

I groaned sleepily, "Go where?"

"To the basketball stadium of course," Kei said energetically.

I snorted, "It's called a court dumbass."

"I knew that," Kei huffed.

"Tch, whatever, I'm not going," I said closing my eyes again.

"I just got off the phone with Momoi-" he started to say.

"I said I'm not going!" I yelled and turned over so my back was facing him.

I felt his hand rest tentatively on my shoulder before he leaned down so close that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up from his breath. "Aomine," he whispered in my ear, "Do you remember?"

"Remember what?" I grumbled curiously.

"That time you shoved me into a bookcase. Twice." he said.

I turned around quickly, causing him to fall over from his squatting position, "That's not fair," I growled.

"Life's not fair," he teased, wagging his index finger at me.

He laughed after that, "Why won't you just play?"

I looked away from him and scowled, "Why would I waste my time?"

His laughter died down, "But you love basketball right? Any time spent doing something you love is time well wasted."

"Who told you I loved basketball?" I shot back.

He looked at me for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Sorry Aomine, for a moment there I got you and my neighbor mixed up."

"You're neighbor?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Kei said coughing, "He's a real basketball fanatic. The only time he's not talking about basketball is when he's talking about food."

I wanted to ask Kei who this neighbor was, and if he was any good, but I didn't want to get my hopes up again.

 _Whoever this guy is, Kei seems to fucking worship him._

 _Annoying._

 _You shouldn't be so easily impressed idiot._

"-disappointing."

"What'd you say?" I asked.

Kei looked at me, "I said it's really disappointing."

I grunted, "Don't tell me you're going to start spewing some crap about teamwork and friendship."

"Those things are important, but that's not what I was talking about. I was saying how disappointed I was that I'm not going to be able to see you play," he said.

I looked at him as he continued, "You see, I've only been told by other people how good of a player you are, and I was looking forward to finally seeing you play, especially after all we've gone through for you to be able to play."

Kei pouted, "So what do you say? Play in the second half for your old senpai?"

 _So what are you going to do Aomine?_

 _Your senpai wants to see you play._

 _I should show him how great I am...purely for the purpose of him getting off my back._

 _It's not like I want him to watch me completely slaughter Seirin._

 _I don't care what he thinks of me._

"Fine," I muttered, "But I have to get changed first."

 **Kei's POV:**

"Do you think we should take the train or walk?" I asked Aomine.

"Train'll be easier this time of day," he said yawning.

"We'll do that then," I said walking towards the station.

"So, what'd you have to do to ditch your prez responsibilities to go watch a basketball game?" Aomine asked.

"I can come and go pretty much as I please, especially when it's to go somewhere to support the school. All I have to do is let Kamiko know where I'm going and how long I'll be gone…" my voice tapered off as I stopped in the middle of the street we were on.

"Kei?" Aomine asked.

 _Oh no._

"Are you thinking about three again?" I heard him ask.

"No, I just forgot to tell Kamiko I was leaving," I said frantically searching through my bag for my phone.

I found it and dialed her number, " _Kei? Where are you? It's been half an hour."_

"Come on Kei, we only have a couple minutes till the next train," Aomine said pulling my arm.

" _Do I hear the problematic child?"_ Kamiko asked.

"Yes, and I'm not coming back because I have to go to a basketball stadium," I answered.

"Court," Aomine corrected.

I heard Kamiko sigh on the other line, " _Fine, just let me know next time."_

"Sorry," I managed to get out before she hung up.

"We need to get on," Aomine said gruffly as he pulled me onto the train.

"You were right, the train is easier," I said observing the nearly empty cart.

"Yeah, it's that magical time where it's after rush hour and before club activities let out," Aomine said yawning.

"I see," I said pensively before stiffening at the weight that was suddenly on my head.

"Um, Aomine?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he said tiredly.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Using you as a headrest," he answered.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because I'm conserving my energy, and it's not often that I'm around people tall enough that I can use as a headrest," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh, why are you so tired anyway?" I asked.

"I slept through lunch and now I'm hungry, I like to sleep when I'm hungry," he explained.

"I see." I said.

 _Wait._

"But you're about to play," I said.

"So?" he said.

"You can't play malnourished!" I protested.

"Stop freakin out about nothing, here's our stop," he said getting off the train.

 **Aomine's POV:**

"Hey, where the hell are you going? It's this way," I said to the blonde.

He ignored me, "Oi, Kei!" I yelled walking behind him.

"If I remember correctly, there's one right around here," I heard him say.

"One what?" I asked.

"One this," he said stopping in front of a convenience store.

I let out an irritated growl, "I told you it's nothing."

"As the eldest of the two of us, I cannot in my good conscience, let you go do something that is physically taxing on an empty stomach," he said walking in.

"Let's just get this over with," I muttered to myself as I walked in after him.

I strolled behind him and watched as he looked at the shelves, sometimes making a weak willed hand movement towards an item, before retracting his hand and shoving it quickly into his pocket. _What is he doing?_

He did it again, but this time I caught his hand before he could put it in his pocket, "What are you doing?" I asked him.

He looked back and forth at me and then the shelves, and then back to me, "What exactly do sports people eat?"

 _Sports people?_

 _Did he really just call me that?"_

The corners of my lips twitched into a smirk, "This is fine," I said grabbing a protein bar.

He smiled _. His smile is really beautiful. Only because his teeth are so white. Yeah. It's inhuman really._

I must have been staring at him because he gave me a curious look, "What's the matter?"

"Uh, nothing, your...your teeth are just really white," I managed to spew out.

He smiled again, "Thanks, I brush them three times a day."

As we walked towards the register I saw him reach for his wallet, "I got it," I said.

He waved his hand at me, "Let senpai treat you."

"No," I said.

I heard his phone ring, "You should get that," I said as I paid.

"Momoi?" I heard him say as he answered.

"I got him," he continued.

"Is he causing me any trouble?" Kei said looking at me and then continuing, "Yes he is."

"Oi," I said.

"What is he doing?" he said.

"Oi," I said louder.  
"He's not letting me nurture him," he said.

"Get off the phone," I said grumpily, pushing him out of the store.

He laughed, "Yeah Momoi, we'll be there in a couple of minutes."

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

After I ushered Aomine over to the court, I received another phone call from Kamiko, " _Kei? Are you here? I see the problematic child so you must be here."_

"Yeah I'm here, wait, how are you seeing Aomine?" I asked her.

" _I made my way down here once you told me you were coming so I could save you a seat,"_ she answered.

"Kamiko, you're a lifesaver," I said.

" _I was only able to get seats on the Seirin side, but they are first row,"_ she said.

"That's fine," I said cheerily, "I'll see you in a couple of seconds," I said hanging up.

 _Seirin, huh._

 _Isn't that where Taiga goes?_

 _Does that mean I get to see him play?_

 _He and Aomine, I'm excited._

I found Kamiko pretty easily, "There you are, the second half's about to start," she said.

"Oh, there's Taiga," I said sitting down.

"That's your next door neighbor right?'' Kamiko asked.

I nodded, "I've never seen him play before, but I thought he was injured last time I talked to him."

"His legs are wrapped, so I assume he's playing injured," Kamiko observed.

"Is that safe?" I asked.

"Probably not," she said and then sighed in irritation, "It looks like the problematic child is being as problematic as ever."

I looked over to the other side of the court to Aomine, who had thrown his clothes and bag on Momoi. I clucked my tongue, "It looks like I'm going to have to talk to him about respect again."

Kamiko chuckled, "Like that's going to work."

I smiled, "It might not, but it's worth a shot. If anything, I have to try for Momoi, she does so much for him and doesn't get much back in return."

"I wonder how that feels," Kamiko said in a sarcastic tone.

I looked at her with a hurt expression, "That's not true Kamiko, you know how much I love you."

She smiled, "I know, I'm just kidding."

"It looks like they're evenly matched," Kamiko said looking down.

I followed her gaze downward and saw Taiga block Aomine from making a shot, "Yeah," I mumbled.

"But I don't think our problematic child is playing seriously," Kamiko added.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Just watch," she answered.

The game was very different from then on, nothing Seirin did could stop the force that was Aomine. I knew he was the ace of the team, but nothing could really prepare me for how good he was.

 _He's fast._

 _It really is...amazing._

Before I knew it, the game was over and we had won by over fifty points. "How do you feel?" Kamiko asked me.

I felt happy that we had won, but then I looked at Taiga and I felt bad, "I'd like to say that I'm torn between our school and my friend, but I'm honestly feeling more for Seirin, I mean Aomine is great, but it's hard not to root for someone with a lot of passion like Taiga," I answered.

"Something that our problematic child is currently missing," Kamiko said standing up.

"Yeah, but I think I understand that a little bit better now," I said.

"I'm going home, I'll see you tomorrow," Kamiko said.

I smiled, "Okay, have a good night!"

After she left I made my way down to the locker rooms. I mean, I wouldn't be a good student council president if I didn't congratulate my own team after a win, and I wanted to have a chat with Aomine. When I opened the door, I was met with a sight that was so familiar I couldn't bring myself to have any reaction other than sighing.

 **Aomine's POV:**

 _Shit._

 _Shit. Shit. Shit. No._

 _I can't deal with this again._

 _Last time was already enough guilt for this year._

I looked at the person in the doorway as I pressed one of my teammates up against a locker. _Why did Kei always have to show up when I was being violent?_

I saw him sigh, and then quickly recover with a smile, saying cheerfully, "Congrats guys, you were amazing!"

I dropped the guy to the ground and walked over to him, "Tch, I think you mean _I'm_ amazing. These losers were only ten points ahead before I came."

"We would have had a better lead, if you SHOWED UP WHEN YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!" Wakamatsu yelled.

I glared at him as Imayoshi put his hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down. I felt something poke my side, one, two, three times. I looked over to Kei who chided me, "Stop being so arrogant, it's upsetting people."

"Whatever," I grunted and walked out.

 _I really hope this doesn't end up like last time._

I heard Kei's footsteps next to me, "Arrogance aside, I thought you were really great Aomine."

"Of course I was," I said.

"I think I understand now," he said thoughtfully.

"Understand what?" I asked.

"I mean, if every game is easy to win like this one was, then I understand why you're not motivated to play or practice. It's hard to be passionate at something you're not challenged with," he said.

 _Do I need to get my ears checked?_

 _He's not telling me to just get over it, he's validating it?_

 _This guy...is weird._

 _But it's nice._

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning your behavior, I'm just saying I understand it," he said quickly.

I chuckled, "So Kei, did you want to get something to eat together?" I asked.

He smiled, "Sorry Aomine, maybe some other time."

"Oh," I said.

 _Wait, why do I feel rejected?_

"I have to go to work now," he said happily.

 _That's better._

"I'll see you at school tomorrow okay?" he said.

"Yeah," I said before he walked away.

 **Kei's Pov:**

As I made my way away from the Touou locker room, I came across the Seirin one. I stood outside for a good minute, contemplating whether I should go in or not. I looked all around me before knocking on the door; I wasn't usually a sneaky person, but I wanted to see how Taiga was doing and I wasn't sure if Aomine would be appreciative of that after our little bonding moment a second ago, so I didn't want anyone to see me. A guy with black hair and glasses opened the door a crack, "What do you want?" he asked me.

I smiled widely, "Is Taiga here?"

"Kei?" I heard before the door opened all the way and I saw Taiga.

I gave him my best smile, "I'm so happy I finally got to see you play."

He gave me a sullen look in return, "I wish you would've seen me win."

"But you played while you were injured, it was amazing!" I protested.

"He's wearing Touou's uniform, how do you know him?" the guy with glasses asked Taiga harshly.

"He's my neighbor," Taiga answered.

I grinned, "I'm Kei Sakamoto, Touou's student council president, it's nice to meet."

"Hyuuga Junpei, I'm Seirin's captain," he responded.

I turned back to the redhead, "Taiga, come by after my shift ends, I'll treat you to some dinner."

"Thanks Kei," he said nodding.

* * *

I work as a waiter at a small, but very busy cafe. It wasn't completely...normal. I had interviewed after I found out that they were hiring in the back of a manga I was reading and I never expected to get hired, but the manager said she liked my smile. It was especially busy during my shift, and I was both tired and glad when it was over and I could relax at a table while I waited for Taiga.

Upon seeing the redhead enter, I waved him over to the table I was sitting at. "I already ordered you a couple cheeseburgers," I said motioning to the food on the table.

He sat down, "Thanks Kei, I really needed this today."

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Crappy," he answered.

"That won't last forever, I know you Taiga, you'll bounce back ten times harder after this," I said.

"I don't know about that, I think I may have reached my limit," he said with a full mouth.

"Don't say that, it doesn't sound like you," I said.

"You think I can beat him?" Taiga asked.

"For a lot of people at Touou, I hope you can. He's causing a lot of people problems, and I know losing wouldn't completely change him, but it might help his insolence," I said sighing.

"You sound like Kuroko," Taiga growled.

"Kuroko?" I questioned.

"He's one of my teammates, and Aomine's old one," Taiga grumbled.

"Oh," I muttered back.

"He said I was too dim," Taiga said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Aomine, he said my light was too dim. Do you think he's right?" Taiga asked.

"No," I said playfully, "Have you seen your hair? I think you're anything but dim."

He laughed, "Are you one to talk? Your hair is the literal color of bright light."

I chuckled, and was about to say something back, but I was interrupted by a coworker, "Kei-kun, the last crate of cabbage we got is was rotted and chef says we can't use it!"

"That doesn't sound right, did it come from the usual place?" I asked him.

"No, we switched because this one was cheaper," he answered.

I sighed, "That's what you get for a low price, low quality."

"What are we gonna do?! There's still five hours left of service!" he cried.

I smiled, "Calm down, I'll go down the street and get some from our usual supplier."

"Thank you Kei-kun," he cried quietly.

I turned to Taiga apologetically, "Do you mind?"

He grabbed another burger and shook his head, "I should be back soon," I said to him as I walked out of the restaurant.

I walked down the street quickly and reached a familiar produce shop, "Kei," I heard when I walked in.

"Kimura, it's been awhile," I said.

"It has been, how's your school year gone so far?" he asked.

"Good, how's yours?" I asked him.

He looked down at the counter somberly, "I'm running low on pineapples already."

I laughed softly, "Miyaji?"

He nodded and I laughed again, "Please tell me you're not running low on cabbages because I'm in desperate need of them."

"No, there's a lot over here," he said moving to the right.

I squinted, "I lost my glasses sometime during my shift, so I can't see very well, but I'll trust you to fill up a crate of the best."

"Kei," he said.

"Mhmm?"

"They're on your head," he said.

I felt my head and pushed down the frames to my face, "Thank you," I said quietly.

He laughed and started filling up a box with cabbages. I looked out the shop windows and saw a strange sight, "Is that a rickshaw?" I asked.

Kimura looked where I was looking and sighed, "First years."

"The person," I started saying and then smiled, "Oh well, I'll ask him about it later."

"Here you go, and I'm charging it to the cafe?" he asked.

"Yeah, and thanks," I said.

I carried the box out the door and ran straight into Taiga, "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I finished eating and remembered you weren't very strong," he answered gruffly and took the box from me.

"Thanks," I said as we walked back to the cafe.

"No problem, it's nice to feel useful at something today," he said.

My ancy coworker was waiting for us outside, pacing back and forth. He and Kagami disappeared into the cafe quickly, and I went to follow them, but was stopped by barking at my feet. I looked down and nearly had a heart attack due to the overwhelming cuteness sniffing my shoes. I bent down and started petting the fluffy black and white puppy, "So cute, are you wearing a jersey?" I cooed in baby talk.

"Thanks for stopping him, he tends to wander," I heard out of nowhere.

I looked up and saw a light blue haired boy, "Is he your dog?" I asked.

He nodded, and then both of us turned our heads as the doors to the cafe opened and Taiga came out. He and the blue haired boy glared at each other before Taiga walked away saying, "See you later Kei."

"Um, yeah," I said confused.

"You were at the locker rooms before," the blue haired boy said.

I studied him, wondering who he was and if I've ever seen him. I chuckled nervously, "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Not really, I'm on Seirin's basketball team, my name's Kuroko Tetsuya," he answered.

 _Kuroko?_

 _Wasn't Taiga just talking about him?_

 _So he was one of Aomine's old teammates._

"Do you know Aomine-kun?" he asked me.

"Yes," I answered.

"He, he wasn't always like this," he said lowly.

"This?"

"He used to be happy, he used to like basketball. We used to be best friends," he said looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry Kuroko," I said.

"I just want to see him smile again," he said with clenched fists.

 _First him and Taiga are glaring at each other, now there's an emotional backstory with Aomine._

 _This is getting more and more like a sports manga every minute._

 _Okay, that makes me the small supporting character who doesn't play sports._

 _I think I fit much more into the loving senpai role, but I can work with this._

I rested my hand on his shoulder, "Hey Kuroko, did you know I'm tutoring Aomine? So, we're partners in crime. I'll make sure to keep him in the game, and you make sure to win next time."

"Shouldn't you be rooting for him?" Kuroko asked.

I smiled, "I think this is a special case."

As I walked home from work that night I thought back to all the time I spent with Aomine.

 _Have I ever seen him smile?_

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello, I'd like to thank the people that read/favorite/follow this and especially the people that take the time to leave reviews. To **CorpulentCatfish** , I'm glad

that you liked it was a male oc, because there aren't that many Knb fanfics that have them. To **Kurogamine-The Light Shadow** , thank you so much for your

compliment on my writing skills and I'm really overjoyed you could see Kei's point of view clearly because his character tends to be all over the place sometimes

and I didn't know how well that would come across. To **Minetsune09** , I'm glad you love the story and I planned on updating this once a week, but I got busy this

week, so it should be pretty regular from now on. To **WaffleeLi** , Kagami would be a great choice for the ex-boyfriend because all the drama, but *laughs evilly* I

have someone better in store. And this has nothing to do with the story, but I'm a diehard Aokaga shipper as well. To **keelan1210** , I'm really happy you like Kei

that much, and I plan to update once a week from now on so I hope that's soon enough. To **SawamuraEijun** , Kagami isn't the ex, but I have someone slightly

better that'll cause even more drama. But Kagami will definitely be used to create jealousy in later chapters, so look forward to that. To **imacchi11229** , thank you

and Aomine's one of my favorite characters so I'm glad I didn't make him OOC or anything. To **Guest** , more is here and to come.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kei's POV:**

"What are you doing?" Aomine asked in an annoyed tone.

"It was brought to my attention that you never smile," I muttered as I pushed the corner of his lips further upwards.

"Stop it," he said.

"You're making him look like a serial killer," Kamiko commented.

I removed my hands from Aomine's face saying, "Is that why you never smile, because you look like a serial killer when you do?"

"No, the only time I look like a serial killer is when some psychotic-," he took this intermission in his statement to flick my head, "-student council president practically pulls my lips apart."

"I was just trying to give you a more cheerful disposition," I pouted as I rubbed my head.

"I don't need no cheerful disposition," he said gruffly.

"You do, however, need a grammar lesson," Kamiko interjected.

Aomine glared at her, "I'm getting sick of you."

She glared back, "I share the same sentiment about you."

I looked back and forth between them and Aomine scowled, "You're a real bitch you know that?"

"Aomine," I scolded, "It's not right to say that, apologize."

"Tch, I'm not apologizing for telling the truth," he grunted.

"I'm sure you'll be happy to hear you won't have to deal with me for the rest of the day then," Kamiko sniped, "The student council committee has a meeting in ten minutes, so you two need to continue your tutoring session elsewhere."

"And I object to future tutoring occurring in this room, which-" she said glaring at Aomine, "-is a clubroom designated to members of this committee, something which this miscreant is not."

"Kamiko, isn't that a little extreme," I said trying to persuade her differently.

"Fine by me," Aomine scoffed, picking up his stuff and leaving.

"Aomine wait," I said skipping after him.

He stopped in his tracks, "Are you skipping?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Why?" he asked me in an accusatory tone.

"Because you walk fast and I don't run," I said.

Aomine shook his head, "Where are we going?" I asked.

He looked around, "I don't know."

"You stormed off with no clue where you were going?" I asked in disbelief before I laughed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Oi, what is that supposed to mean?" Aomine asked aggressively.

"Nothing," I giggled, "Come on, let's study in the library."

 **Aomine's POV:**

 _What did he find so funny?_

 _He's always laughing when I say something._

 _It makes me feel like a kid._

 _I hate it._

I let him drag me to the library, where the librarian smiled at Kei but then practically sneered at me. Kei looked back and whispered, "Why is she scowling at you?"

I sighed and mumbled quietly, "Bookcase incident."

He nodded and sat down at an empty table, "Be on your best behavior then because we'll have to study here from now on."

"What's her problem anyway? It's not like you haven't tutored me during a meeting before," I asked.

"I don't think she likes your attitude is all," he said and then gave me a big smile before continuing, "Maybe if you two could find some middle ground it'd be easier."

I grunted, "Not interested in befriending someone like her."

He smiled, "Maybe you can-"

"I already said I'm not interested!" I yelled.

Kei's smile disappeared and he looked down at the table, "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

I sighed dramatically and leaned back in my chair, "Don't be sorry, she's just always on my case for no reason."

"I am sorry though, I sometimes cross boundaries trying to make things work, so you don't have to be friendly with her if you don't want to," he said solemnly.

 _Shit._

 _He's not smiling._

 _I broke him._

"Excuse me!" I heard a harsh whisper address me.

I looked over to the thin-lipped librarian, "Yeah?" I answered lazily.

She glared at me, "This is a library young man. Not a place you can yell and knock over books as you please, you need to leave."

"Ms.-" I heard Kei started to say, but she cut him off, "Kei, you're a dear, but I can't have him in here. He's disruptive."

"Fine," I huffed and walked out, hearing Kei's footsteps behind me.

I stopped in the hallway and turned to look at him before engaging in silence for the next couple minutes. I sighed and scratched the back of my head, "So, um, did you wanna go get something to eat? You know, to make up for last time?"

He smiled, "Sounds good, I'm starving."

 **Kei's POV:**

I looked down at my three measly burgers and giggled nervously, "I know I said _I_ was hungry, but Aomine, are you getting enough food at home?"

Aomine shoved an entire burger in his mouth and replied with his mouth full, "This is the normal amount for me."

"I see," I laughed it off.

 _I know they're rivals, but Aomine and Kagami are becoming more and more alike to me._

 _They'll probably morph into the same person at some point._

 _I wonder how I'll tell them apart?_

 _The hair...the hair most definitely._

I looked down at the steadily disappearing mountain of burgers across the tables and tried to think of something to say.

 _Taiga is not an option._

 _Kuroko is not an option._

 _I don't know anything about basketball._

 _Maybe that's a topic in itself._

"So Aomine, what position do you play in basketball?" I asked.

"Power forward," he answered lazily.

"What does a power forward do?" I inquired further.

"Do you really want to know or are you just making small talk?" Aomine asked abruptly.

I smiled, "Of course I want to know."

Aomine scarfed down his last burger, "The power forward wins the game," he said before getting up to throw away his trash.

 _For some reason I don't think that's the correct definition._

"So," Aomine said sitting down, "What do you do besides smiling and being the prez?"

"Being the student council president takes up a lot of my time so I don't really have time for other activities," I said quickly.

 _Please don't probe any further._

"Is that so?" Aomine smirked.

"Mmhmm," I hummed, rapidly twisting the straw in my drink.

Aomine stared me down, "You're hiding something."

I smiled, "I don't know what you're talking about Aomine."

He leaned back in his chair and gave me a lopsided grin, "I'll find out eventually."

"Back to your tutoring," I said quickly, "What are we going to do? You've been banned from the library and you have a math test tomorrow."

I furrowed my brow and said, "I'd suggest we use this place but-" I looked around the noisy restaurant.

"People are fucking annoying," Aomine said.

"People are enjoying themselves," I reworded.

"We can go over to my place, it's not far from here," Aomine said.

"Okay," I said finishing the last of my drink.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

 _No._

 _No._

 _No._

"This cannot be, this cannot exist," I said nearly hyperventilating.

"Yeah, sorry it's a little cluttered," Aomine said next to me.

" _A little cluttered?"_ I repeated and then said in a whisper, "There are things growing in here Aomine."

"Sorry I'm not some damn housekeeper, geez," Aomine huffed.

I took a few breaths and sat Aomine down on his bed, "Just sit here and do these practice problems, senpai is going to take care of everything."

I looked down where he was sitting and pulled him back up before ripping off the sheets and leaving him on a bare mattress, "Kei, you don't have to do stuff for me," Aomine said.

"Trust me," I rasped while gripping tightly onto the far from clean fabric, "Senpai is doing this for his sanity."

"Washer?" I questioned as I snatched up other dirty laundry in my line of sight.

"Laundry room's to the right of the bathroom and it'll have everything you'll need," Aomine said and looked up, "Or at least I think, I don't know I haven't been in there in a couple years."

I gave him a horrified look before practically running to the laundry room with an armful dirty towels, clothes, and bedding. I gave a sigh of relief once I reached it, the smell of laundry detergent and dryer sheets calming me before I had to go back to Aomine's nest. "I assume these go in the kitchen?" I asked holding up a dirty bowl.

"Yeah," Aomine yawned.

After making my exodus out of Aomine's cave and venturing into the kitchen where I scrubbed the dishes till they were spotless, I was surprised and delighted to find that the dishes inside the cupboards were neatly organized. I went back to Aomine's room in a lighter mood, or at least that was until I walked in and saw him spread out on his bed. Asleep. With a gravure magazine covering his face. "Aomine," I said bending down to wake him up.

I should've expected the predicament I ended up in after that, after all it had happened to me once before. So once again I found myself wrapped in the arms of a sleeping Aomine, "Okay," I breathed, "Remember what Momoi told you; turn," I said shifting my body, "And then wait for him to realize I don't have boobs."

Aomine's arm wrapped tightly around my waist, "Just wait Kei," I said to myself.

His leg made its way between mine, "Just wait," I reassured myself.

Aomine buried his face in the crook of my neck, "Smells good," he said in his sleep as he started undoing the buttons on my shirt.

"Momoi didn't tell me what to do after this," I groaned.

 _At least he doesn't sleepwalk._

 _He'd be a danger to society._

I squirmed as a hand made its way into my shirt and across my chest, "Flat."

 **Aomine's POV:**

I breathed in deeply as I opened my eyes groggily. The girl in my dream smelled really good, but she was way too flat chested for my taste. My eyes opened completely and all I saw was blonde, "What the hell," I muttered as I let go of the person I was holding onto.

As soon as my grip loosened the person sprang up, "What the hell indeed," the voice that I registered as Kei's through my post nap haze mocked, "You know you have a serious problem...can't just go through life grabbing and undressing people in your sleep," he mumbled as his elbows moved in a way I could only assume he was buttoning his shirt up.

 _So I was acting out what I did with the chick on him?_

 _Oops._

I furrowed my brow as I grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulling his back towards me and sniffing his hair, "Tch," I said pushing him forward, "The only one with a serious problem is you. What do you expect me to do when you smell like some girly shit?"

"It's my conditioner," he said defensively.

I brought my face to the back of his head again, "Is that fuckin fruit?" I asked.

"It's mango, and excuse me if I'm hygienic unlike others," he said.

"Hey, at least I smell manly," I said gruffly.

"Not bathing for four days and putting on too much cologne and aftershave is not how to obtain a manly scent, it's a recipe for a staph infection," he jabbed.

I chuckled, "Is the timid prez getting worked up?"

"Of course, you got us kicked out of the library, grabbed me in your sleep for the second time, said I smelled girly, and you shouldn't have been asleep in the first place. You should've been studying. And I'm not timid, I'm cooperative," he said turning back to me.

"Fine," I grumbled and picked up my textbook, "If it's that important to you I'll keep studying."

"It's not that it's important to me, this tutoring is for you. You seem to forget that," he said picking up the magazine on my bed and walking across the room.

"Oi, what are you doing with that?" I asked him.

He sat down saying, "If you insist on keeping this many porn magazines in your room, they might as well be organized."

"They're not porn magazines, they're tasteful erotica," I said in a hostile tone.

"Sure," Kei said in a pacifying manner.

I went back to studying as Kei began organizing my extensive collection of gravure magazines. I glanced at him every couple of minutes, he was pretty impressive. In a matter of a half an hour he was almost done with them, and it looked like he had color coded them and arranged them alphabetically.

 _Kei's to organizing what I am to basketball._

Our silence was interrupted by Kei's phone ringing. I watched him reach for his pocket out of the corner of my eye, "Kei here," I heard him answer happily.

The person on the other line must've been talking because Kei was silent until a couple minutes later, "I see," he said lowly before saying in a more joyful tone, "I'll try and think of something."

Silence again. I listened intently, "Okay, bye," he said.

He put his phone back and finished putting away the magazines before getting up. I looked down quickly as he got up, and looked up again to see him in a deep contemplation.

 _I want to ask him why he's upset._

 _But it doesn't feel like the right time._

 _I'll wait._

And I waited. I waited quietly while Kei vigorously cleaned my room in what seemed to be an effort to calm himself down. He cleaned and organized my room until it was spotless and everything was in it's place. He then sat on the floor and put his head in between his legs.

 _That's it._

 _I want to know._

"What's up, you're acting weirder than usual," I asked nonchalantly.

He sighed loudly and tugged on his hair, "I just got a call from the poetry club's president and even though I've given them all the extensions I can, they're short by one member and only have till the end of tomorrow," he looked up and smiled widely, "I really can't do anything for them."

 _His smile…_

 _...seems inappropriate._

"Kei, you know how you said I never smile?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Well, I think you smile too much, it doesn't really mean anything in this type of situation. It's kinda fake," I said.

 **Kei's POV:**

"It's kinda fake," Aomine said.

I chuckled, "So, do you think I'm a fraud Aomine?"

He laid down in his bed saying, "I don't know you well enough to pass that judgement, but I do think the way you act and the way you actually are doesn't add up."

He picked at his ear and continued, "I mean I don't believe anyone can truthfully enjoy catering to other people like you do."

I smiled softly, "I honestly hate half the people at our school, they're really selfish."

Aomine laughed loudly, "You see? That's what I'm talking about."

"Why do you do it if you hate it?" he asked me.

I let out a long breath, "I don't know, maybe because it gives me some purpose. Why do you still play basketball if you don't like it?" I poked back.

"Fair enough," he answered.

"Daikipoo," a high voice interrupted us.

"What," Aomine shouted.

I heard soft footsteps and a middle aged woman appeared in the doorway, "Dai-," her eyes wandered the room and she squealed, "Did my only son come around and clean his room for mommy!?"

Aomine pointed at me, "He cleaned it, don't ask me. I think it's some sort of compulsion."

I gave him a small glare before getting up and smiling, "Hello, I'm Aomine's tutor Kei Sakamoto. I assume you're Aomine's mother although it's almost impossible to believe with how young you look."

"Oh stop," she said waving her hand at me and blushing.

I saw Aomine rolled his eyes, "Did you do this?" his mother asked me.

"I did, I found myself unable to let this room detract from the otherwise absolutely lovely home," I answered.

She let out a girlish giggle, "Oh you charmer! Are you hungry?"

"No, Aomine and I just ate-" I started.

"You'll just have to stay for dinner then, I'm trying out a new recipe," she cut me off.

I smiled, "Is that so, what are you making? Maybe I could help."

"You cook?' she asked me in a seemingly shocked tone.

I rubbed the back of my head, "I live alone, so it's kind of a necessity, and my neighbor and I like to exchange recipes."

"You're so sweet," she swooned, " I wish my Daikipoo would help me cook once in a while, but he's much more interested in the eating part rather than the cooking part."

I laughed, "I can see that."

"Come to the kitchen with me," she said grabbing my arm.

" _She's pretty strong,"_ I thought as she practically dragged me away.

Once we got into the kitchen, Aomine's mother immediately put me to work chopping vegetables. "How is he doing?" she asked me, "I hope he isn't causing you too much trouble."

I smiled, "He's becoming increasingly easier to work with."

"That's good," she sighed, "He's so difficult nowadays, I know kids change when they're teenagers, but he used to be so cheerful...anyway, I'm glad he has a friend other than Satsuki."

I paused cutting, "I'm sure he's just going through a phase Mrs. Aomine, I'm completely different from when I was a kid. It's a side effect of growing up I think."

"Thank you Kei, you're such a doll," she said smiling.

 _That was a lie._

 _I've been the same exact person since I was four._

 _But if it makes her happier..._

We continued cooking like that for an hour or so, the conversation was dominated by Aomine's mother telling me about him and Momoi when they were little. "Kei doll," she addressed me, "Can you go tell Daiki that dinner's ready?"

"Yes Ma'am," I responded.

I walked back to Aomine's room and found him asleep. Again. I sighed and threw the closest book to me at his head. "What the fuck?" he said waking him up.

"Dinner's ready," I said.

"And you couldn't find a better way to wake me up?" Aomine asked.

"I had to protect my personal safety," I said.

"Tch," Aomine grumbled, "Personal safety my ass."

"You got it all wrong, it's _my_ ass that needs protecting, not yours," I said.

"Haha, funny," Aomine said sarcastically as he shooed me down the hallway.

When we got to the dining table, there was an extra person sitting next to Aomine's mom, "Dear, this is the sweetheart of a boy I was talking about," she said.

The man, who I took to be Aomine's father given that he looked like an older version of him with a scruffy beard, nodded and looked me up and down, "Tall," he commented and asked, "Sports?"

Aomine's mother looked at me in expectation, "Um, no. My club activities don't leave time for a sport," I answered.

"Oh, and what are your club activities?" Aomine's mother asked.

I felt Aomine's father stare me down in an intense manner as I answered, "I'm president of the student council committee."

"Oh how lovely, such a leader," Aomine's mother commented before she motioned for Aomine and I to sit down.

As I sat down I looked at all the family pictures hung up on the wall.

 _Aomine was really cute as a kid._

 _He was always smiling._

 _I get what his mom was talking about._

I looked sideways at Aomine.

 _I hope he gets back to that place one day._

"Kei doll, you mentioned before you lived alone. Where are your parents?" Aomine's mother asked me.

"They moved out of the country for work two years ago, but I wanted to stay in Japan so I live alone," I answered.

"Such an independent and nice child," she said.

Aomine's father gave a nod in approval as I finished the last bite of my meal, "Well, I better head home-" I started to say.

"Oh no, it's much too late for you to go back home alone. You'll stay here tonight, Daiki, go get him a pair of clothes and sleeping bag," she said determinedly.

 _I feel as if I don't have much choice in whether or not I stay here._

 **Aomine's POV:**

Kei returned from the bathroom with my clothes on. Even though I was only a couple inches taller, they were still big on him because of how slim he was. The sweatpants I gave him clung to his waist just barely and the shirt hung low, exposing part of his collarbone and shoulder. "You know," he said walking into my room, "This is the first time anyone's lent me clothes that are too big for me."

"What, your boyfriend was smaller than you? That's hard to believe, there's no way you'd top," I said.

"Rude, I can be...aggressive. And for your information, he was around your height, but he never lent me any clothes," he said.

"Around my height hmm, who is he?" I asked.

"Nice try, but I'm not telling," he said.

I turned around in my bed so I was facing the wall, "Sleeping bags on the floor."

I heard him shuffle into it before saying, "Wow, this is the first time I've been in a sleeping bag bigger than me."

"No shit, it has to fit me," I said.

I heard him shift again and say in a muffled voice, "I can go all the way down and have my head covered."

I threw a pillow his way, "Here."

"I don't even need it in here, it's really soothing. Like a cocoon. An Aomine sized cocoon...in Aomine sized clothes," he said.

I laughed, "Stop being weird and go to sleep."

* * *

I woke up to Momoi shrieking, "Dai-chan, did you finally clean your room, it's been like three years!"

"It was me," I heard Kei as he shifted up out of the sleeping bag.

Satsuki yelled again and I opened my eyes to see her wrapping her skirt around her because she was standing right over him, "Dai-chan, you could've warned me Kei was on the ground," she whined.

"Don't worry Momoi, I'm blind without my glasses so I didn't see anything," Kei said sitting up.

"You two are going to be late to school!" she said running out.

"That gives me some more time to sleep," I said tiredly.

"Aomine, that's the opposite reaction to have," Kei said.

"If I'm gonna be late anyway, might as well get ten or twenty minutes more of sleep," I said.

"I've never met anyone who sleeps so much, you're like a cat," Kei said.

"Yeah, yeah," I yawned.

"Remember your test is today," I heard Kei faintly as I drifted off again.

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

Kei and Satsuki ambushed me outside my classroom, "So," Satsuki said, "How did it go?" Kei finished.

"I passed," I said sheepishly.

Both of them broke out in excited squealing, "Dai-chan that's so great!" Satsuki said hugging me.

"I knew you could do it, senpai's going to buy you a cookie," Kei said starting to walk towards the cafeteria.

"Wait Kei," Satsuki said grabbing his arm, "Are you going to the festival tonight?"

"I wasn't planning to," he answered.

"We should all go together, to celebrate," Satsuki said.

"Sounds annoying," I grunted.

"Come on you guys! You're both so anti-social," she whined.

"If you want me to I'll go," Kei said smiling.

Then they both turned to me, "Fine, I'll go, just stop staring at me like that," I said walking away from them.

 **Kei's POV:**

He acted abrasively when Momoi asked him to go, but I really hoped that Aomine would have fun tonight. "You're going to be late if you wait any longer," Kamiko said next to me.

"Are you sure you don't want to go Kamiko?" I asked her.

"I find festivals to be garish and unnecessary," she answered.

"A true Kamiko answer," I laughed, "I'll just finish the budget for the second term and-"

"Finish it over the weekend," Kamiko directed.

"Yessir," I said smiling and getting up, "I'll see you next week Kamiko."

"You don't know what could happen in the span of a day, you could always be killed by some crazy psychopath," Kamiko deadpanned.

"So mean," I laughed and walked out.

"Kei!" I heard someone call out to me as I tried to leave school.

I turned around to see the poetry club president, "Hi," I said in a melancholy tone.

"I just wanted to say thank you," she said a little breathlessly.

"I don't think thanks are really in order," I said even lower.

She smiled, "Of course they are, we wouldn't have gotten the final member we needed without you."

I looked at her confused, "What are you talking about.

"Aomine came after class and said that you recommended the club to help with his english grade," she replied.

"Oh, I see," I said.

"I've got to go now, but thanks again Kei," she said.

"You're welcome," I said softly.

I smiled genuinely.

 _No matter how arrogant, violent, or lazy Aomine seems on the outside…_

 _...I believe he's a good person._

I walked home quickly and changed before I met up with Aomine and Momoi, but I don't think I was dressed to Momoi's specifications, "You guys," she whined, "Why am I the only one who's dressed up?"

"You look very pretty Momoi," I said admiring her pale pink Yukata and how her hair was up.

"That's not the point, I know I look good. The problem is you two," she said motioning to Aomine and I, who had both opted for a simple t-shirt and jeans.

"I thought this would be more comfortable," I said.

"Yeah, dressing up's for kids Satsuki," Aomine said.

Momoi puffed out her cheeks, "You're no fun-" she trailed off turning her attention elsewhere, "Is that Ki-chan?"

"Ki-chan?" I questioned, but no one answered me.

"I'm going to say hi to him," Momoi said walking away.

"Tch," Aomine said turning away, "Is there anything you want to do Kei?" he asked me.

"Well, I'm not much one for roller coasters, but I've always wanted to try to go on a ferris wheel," I said.

"Let's go," Aomine said roughly.

I followed him, and I was okay when I got into the line, was okay when we got into the cart, was okay halfway up, but not much after that. "Oi, are you okay?" Aomine asked me as I started to hyperventilate.

"No," I shook my head violently, "Not at all. This was a bad idea. BAD IDEA!" I shouted as we reached the top and I screwed my eyes shut.

"Calm down," Aomine said slowly.

"I can't calm down!" I said as I heard the machine squeak, "We're gonna die!" I said gripping his thigh with all of the strength my underdeveloped arms could muster.

I slowly started to calm down as we came back down, "At least this is over with, I should not do things of this nature in the future."

"Are you an idiot, this thing goes around like five times," Aomine said as we just nearly kissed the ground before being hurled back up.

"Oh no," I moaned, "Oh, no, no, no."

I closed my eyes and shook for the next turn, "I'm just gonna get out now," I said as we approached the ground again, fully intending to throw my body out of the opening.

"Are you fucking insane?" Aomine yelled at me, before pulling me away from the opening by my waist and planting me back down on the seat.

"Yes," I sniffed, "This was a horrible idea."

"Don't, don't cry," Aomine said, "Be a man."

"I'm not a man," I cried, "I use mango conditioner."

As the wheel went down and up for the fourth time, I calmed down, "So who's Ki-chan?" I asked.

"No one," Aomine said defensively.

 _Okay._

 _List of people not to talk to Aomine about: Kuroko, Taiga, and now Ki-chan._

"Anywho," I said changing the subject, "I wanted to thank you Aomine."

"For what?" he grunted.

"I ran into the poetry club president on my way out of school today," I said smiling.

"Don't read too much into it," he groaned, "I honestly just thought it'd help with my english grade."

"Sure," I said unconvinced.

"My mom asked when you were coming over again. I think she wants to kidnap you, so it might be best for us to find a different spot," Aomine said.

"We could use my place," I offered, "There'd be no one else there."

I spotted the wary look Aomine gave me, "And you know, the more time we have alone together, the more time I have to seduce you," I said sarcastically.

Aomine's eyes widened and I laughed, "Are you blushing?" I teased.

"Shut up," he grumbled.

 **Aomine's POV:**

"And you know, the more time we have alone together, the more time I have to seduce you," Kei joked.

I was startled to say the least, but I shouldn't have been surprised that Kei picked up on my apprehension, given that he was so perceptive when it came to people. I blushed a deep red and told him to shut up when he called me out on it.

 _Dammit Daiki._

 _The only reason he can tease you about it is because you're making a big deal out of it._

 _Just because he's bi and had a boyfriend before doesn't mean he's interested._

 _He already said he wasn't._

 _I shouldn't worry._

 _I should thank him for making light of it so it isn't awkward._

 _But I won't. That's just not what I do._

We got off the ride and I could tell Kei was still shaken up because he immediately went and hugged the side of a stall, "Do you want something to drink?" I asked.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he replied.

"Okay, stay here," I told him.

 **Kei's POV:**

Aomine wasn't gone for two minutes when Momoi popped back up, this time with a tall blonde by her side. "Kei, I want you to meet Ki-chan," she said walking up to me.

"Kei Sakamoto, nice to meet you," I smiled.

He smiled back, "Kise Ryouta, it's nice to meet you as well."

 _So this is Ki-chan._

 _I don't see anything too horrible about him._

 _At least on the surface._

"Ki-chan was on the team at Teikou," Momoi explained.

 _That's it._

 _Note: Aomine does not get along with old teammates._

 _2nd Note: This is becoming more and more like a sports manga._

Kise Ryouta. Kise Ryouta. The name sounded really familiar. "Wait, aren't you that really popular model?" I asked.

"I wouldn't say that-ssu," he grinned modestly.

"The really pretty one," I elaborated.

"Kei, Ki-chan's straight. Or at least...I think he is," Momoi said in an unsure tone.

 _Oh Lord._

 _I think I've made her suspicious of all guys now._

"I was just making an observation, I wasn't hitting on him," I said lightheartedly.

 _Poor girl doesn't know which way is up or down._

"Oh," she said.

"Where's Aominecchi?" Kise asked.

 _Aominecchi? That's Aomine right? What a weird nickname…_

 **Aomine's POV:**

I left Kei for two minutes. Two minutes. And when I came back he was chatting with Kise, who I didn't feel like dealing with tonight. "Aominecchi!" I cringed as I heard my name being called.

Walking up to Kei, I saw him lightly tap his fist in his other hand, "Is it -ecchi because he's perverted?"

I stopped in my tracks as Kise started laughing uncontrollably, "That's really funny, I never thought about that before!"

I pulled Kei away by the arm, "Let's go," I growled.

"Aomine?" Kei asked.

I looked back at him and saw his concerned eyes, and I knew he didn't like this side of me nor did he understand it.

 _Hell Kei, I don't know either._

He didn't ask any questions, and that's one of the things I really like about Kei; he digs just deep enough to make you think but stops before he hits the sore spot. I wished I was more like him, not like myself who just stomps around mucking things up wherever I go. After blowing off some steam, I started to walk at a normal pace before stopping at a random stall where you had to shoot basketballs into a hoop to win these big prizes. I looked at it bitterly, no one really understood how much damage something that was supposed to be fun could cause. "Do you ever…" Kei said suddenly, "Just look and realize doughnuts are the most perfect things in the universe?"

I looked to where he was looking, at a big stuffed doughnut cushion, "You want it?" I asked handing the vendor some money and starting to shoot.

Every shot was perfection. Effortless. Meaningless. Unfulfilling and numbing. "Um Aomine, I can't _just_ have one," Kei said tugging on my arm.

I looked at him and smiled, "I know, you need three."

* * *

Hi there, I know I originally planned to update this once a week, but I'm pretty busy with life stuff so I'll probably only be able to post a new chapter every two weeks

once every two weeks. Anyways, I want to thank the people that read/favorite/follow/review this story. To **WaffleeLi** , the ex is someone better in my opinion, and

he's definitely going to cause more drama than Kagami ever would so I'll get the coffin ready. To **Keelan1210** , thanks for the well wishes, I probably need all I can

get. To **Kurogamine- The Light Shadow** , I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'll try to update this as quickly as I can in the future. To **cjennxx** , I'm glad you like the plot

and I hope you got to see more of who Kei is in this chapter, but he's definitely a more introverted person who puts on a very charming facade so it might take longer

to get to know him as a character, but you'll definitely start to see more of that when he and Aomine develop a closer relationship. To **SawamuraEijun** , thank you,

and I'm glad you liked the other GOM in there because they're all my rainbow babies and I can't help but put them all in everything I write.


	4. Chapter 4

**Kei's POV:**

 _Kamiko's going to kill me._

 _She's going to murder me in my sleep._

 _Someone, please tell my future children I love them._

 _Or my future cats._

 _I'm unsure how that part of my life's going to end up._

Images of Kamiko's tiny hands wrapping around my throat danced in my head as I ran, more like tried to run to the basketball game I was late for. It was the quarter final of the Interhigh, and as student council president I was obligated to attend any game that had the word "final" attached to it. The only problem was, the baseball team had their semi final game today and the times overlapped.

I finally arrived and pushed my way through the crowded court to where my vice president was shooting me dirty looks. "I'm sorry Kamiko," I breathed as I sat down next to her.

"You're late," she said in a steely tone.

"I am...aware," I responded.

"What took you so long?" she whispered harshly to me.

"The game went on longer than I expected and then there were people and they made it hard to get here, have you ever realized how many people are in Tokyo?" I asked.

"Don't changed the subject," Kamiko commanded, "Now I'm not going to waste my time reprimanding you, but just know that it doesn't look good when our student council president shows up when the game's in it's last quarter."

"You don't have to tell me that," I sighed, "I'm already disappointed in myself, I wanted to watch Aomine play a whole game this time."

"You didn't really miss much, the only thing different from the Seirin match is that Aomine has to put a little bit more effort into going up against that blonde chicken," Kamiko said.

"Blonde chicken?" I asked in confusion.

"Turn forward," Kamiko said pushing my face away from her and to the court.

"Um, Kamiko, his name is Kise," I said.

She squinted her eyes, "He irritates me."

I laughed, "You've never met him."

"I just have a feeling," Kamiko said.

I smiled at her and turned my attention to the game, which only had a small amount of time left in it. This one wasn't as lopsided as the one we had played against Taiga's team, but Aomine was still so amazing that there wasn't any doubt who would be winning this match. We won by twelve points. "How sad," I mumbled as I observed Kise falling down after trying to stand up.

"Aren't the chicken and the child friends? Why isn't he helping him up?" Kamiko asked.

I frowned, "I don't think so, I mean Aomine completely avoided him at the festival."

Kamiko chuckled, "He may still be problematic, but he's less of a child."

"Kamiko please don't praise his behavior, it's not him being mature, it's him being mean spirited."

Kamiko stood up and said, "In real life no one picks you up when you fall, Aomine's looking out for himself and _that_ is being mature."

I smiled widely at her, "No matter what you think about real life Kamiko, I'll always be there to pick you up when you fall."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Kei," she scoffed.

"But I always keep my promises," I said.

She gave me a small smile, "I know," she looked down at the court and then back at me, "I think I'm going home."

"Oh, I was gonna congratulate the team. Are you okay to walk home by yourself?" I asked her worriedly.

"I always am," she said walking past me.

I hummed as I walked in the direction of the locker rooms, before I was nearly assaulted by someone who I recognized as the editor of our school newspaper, "Hey prez, you wanna give me your comment on the game?" he asked me, shoving something in my face.

"Is that a tape recorder? Do they still make those? And didn't I just see you at the baseball game, how did you get here so fast?" I asked him.

"It's not your business, I have my ways," he said snippily and shoved the recorder closer to my mouth, "Now, your comment?"

"Right," I laughed, "I'm of course very proud of our team and how they represent our school, their performance today was outstanding."

"Mmm," he said passively and took a picture of me.

"You could've warned me," I whined softly.

He waved his hand at me, "Don't worry about, you're the easiest person to take pictures of cause you're always smiling, you and that creepy dude from the disciplinary committee."

"Thank you," I replied, "And I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better statement but I'm actually in a rush to congratulate our team."

He looked up at me, "It's fine, you're the president, a figurehead, no one actually cares what you have to say. Just look pretty and smile."

"Oh, I feel loved," I said sarcastically as he walked off.

I sighed and continued on my route, or at least until I heard the sniffling and crying of someone. Looking around, I located the source of the noise which was a familiar blonde head wedged in between a vending machine and a trash can. Unable to just leave him alone I went up saying, "Kise, are you alright?"

His head jerked up and he gave me a forced smile before saying In a fake cheerful tone, "Oh hi there Kei."

"Kise," I muttered unconvinced.

Crouching down, I put my hand on his head saying, "You know Kise, you don't have to pretend that you're not upset. I know you must feel devastated right now."

 _That might just be the most hypocritical thing you've ever said Kei._

 _You really should take your own advice sometime._

Kise nodded and tucked his head down further in response, "You should never hide how you truly feel," I added on.

Kise looked up slightly, "You really mean that-ssu?" he asked me.

"Of course," I said smiling.

Kise smiled back at me, "Okay Keicchi, from now on, I'm going to be 100% honest with my feelings!"  
"Okay then," I laughed nervously as I inched away from him, "I really should be going so…"

Kise laughed, "I get it, you should go be with your team."

"Okay, bye," I said waving at him as I continued on my path.

When I finally reached the locker room, I opened the door to see that Aomine wasn't there. "He left already," was the answer I got from Imayoshi.

"Oh, I see," I said dejectedly.

 _I'm worried about him._

 _I don't think...I don't think he's happy about the victory, winning doesn't mean anything to him anymore._

I looked at Momoi, "Do you have any idea where he is?"

Momoi shook her head, "He sorta stormed off."

I nodded slowly and then exited the locker room.

 **Aomine's POV:**

I clenched my jaw as I left the building, I wasn't exactly in the mood to celebrate our victory. I quickened my pace. _Where are you going Daiki?_

 _School?_

 _No._

 _Home._

 _Definitely not._

 _I just want to go somewhere people won't ask me about the game. Someplace high up._

I smirked to myself as I thought of the perfect place. Ten minutes later, I entered the nearly deserted festival grounds that I had been at a couple nights ago. It was technically the last day, but no one except a few mothers with small children were around. I walked briskly to the ferris wheel, handing the operator money saying, "I'm gonna need a few rounds."

He nodded and motioned for me to get in. I relaxed and closed my eyes once the ride started, the slight motion was comforting. _I like being alone. No one's here to bother me and I can think._

I enjoyed a few turns spent in silence and the in darkness of my eyelids, until the ride stopped as it had three times before but unlike the others I heard a creak as someone entered and sat down. My eyes snapped open, "What the fuck dude!? There's like twelve empty carts!" I yelled before I saw the person sitting across from me.

"Kei," I said in a surprised tone.

He laughed, "I know there's a lot of empty ones, but this one has you."

"Why are you here?" I grumbled, putting my head back and closing my eyes again.

"I was worried about you, Momoi said you stormed off," he answered.

"Wait a minute," I said sitting up, "How the hell did you know I was here? You and Momoi aren't tracking me in some fucked up way are you?"

He smiled again, "This isn't some sci-fi movie Aomine, although putting a chip in you might be helpful when you don't show up to tutoring I just came here on a gut instinct."

"Shut up," I grumbled before asking, "Hey, aren't you scared of this thing?"

He laughed nervously and I saw him shake out of the corner of my eye, "...yeah." he said lowly.

I scratched the back of my head saying, "You can come sit by me if you want."

"That'll be too much weight on one side and we'll die," he said quickly.

"No we won't," I said sighing and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him over to me.

He was rigid at first and then relaxed, "Why did you leave so suddenly?" he asked as soon as he was able to.

I sighed in exasperation, "Because I was pissed."

"Why were you pissed?" he questioned.

I was silent for a couple minutes and even though Kei didn't pressure me any further I told him, "I can't play the rest of the Interhigh."

His eyes widened, "Why? Is it your grades? I thought we got them high enough for you to play."

"It's not that," I mumbled and looked down, "Coach doesn't think I can physically take the next few games, he's benching me."

"If it's for your health then it can't be helped, right?" he said cheerfully.

I curled my fists, "I could do it."

"I'm sorry Aomine," Kei said sympathetically.

"Thanks," I mumbled back.

"No problem," he responded.

"I mean thanks for not giving me a whole lecture about how it's what's best for my body and all that shit," I said.

He smiled, "I mean, it's common sense that you wouldn't want to push your body past it's limit and risk an injury you couldn't recover from, but from my experience, sometimes people just need to feel things, no matter how illogical those feelings are."

"They're not going to be able to win without me," I said.

He laughed, "Maybe so, but I think that would make you happy. That way you can gloat about how much the team needs you."

I smiled softly, "Yeah, you're right."

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

"Ao-mi-ne."

I opened my eyes groggily as someone poked me in my side three times.

I opened my eyes slowly and sat up, "What the fu- Kei," I sighed grumpily as I plopped back down on my bed and threw my arm up to my face to shield me from the light, "It's eight in the morning during summer break, why in the hell are you here?"

I couldn't see him, but I could almost perfectly picture Kei smiling as he replied, "I'm here to cheer you up."  
"By depriving me of sleep?" I asked grumpily.

He laughed, "No, I didn't want you to be depressed about not being able to attend the summer training camp because of the strain on your legs, so I thought of something to put you in a better mood."

"Oh, and what's that?" I asked him.

"You are officially invited to the second year's summer beach trip!" he said excitedly.

I rolled onto my side saying, "Forget it."

"But Aomine," Kei whined.

"No," I said gruffly.

Kei sighed and then said slyly, "Are you sure? There'll be a ton of second year girls who'll want to keep your spirits up and nurse you back to health."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, "In bikinis," he added.

"I guess I could go," I mumbled.

Kei laughed, "Good, because your mom's already packing up your stuff and I'd hate for it to be for nothing."

"She likes you too much," I growled, "She'd probably commit murder for you or something if you asked."

"I'd only kill them if they hurt Kei doll," I heard the voice of my mom say as she entered my room with a bag.

"Here Daikipoo, this is all you'll need for your trip," she said and then turned to Kei, "You two should get going, the train's going to be leaving soon."

"Ah, you're right!" Kei said turning towards me, "Aomine, chop chop," he said in an authoritative tone, "We don't have all day."

"I'll take as long as I damn well please," I said getting up, "And why are we going by train? Don't these things usually come with a bus?"

"They do," he said as he smiled, "Unless you have to go out of your way to pick up a sulking basketball player."

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

"Excuse me, I'm checking in with the Touou High group," I said to the man at the front desk of the hotel.

"Sakamoto Kei?" he asked me.

I nodded my head as he handed me a tiny envelope, "Here's the key to your room, they said you'd be here soon."

"Room?" I heard a deep voice question behind me.

"It has two beds Aomine, but whether or not we'll push them together has yet to be decided," I joked and then laughed as a small blush appeared on his face and he looked away, grumbling incoherently.

 _It feels like I'm teasing him, but if I don't make fun of it it'll become awkward._

 _Someone as stereotypically straight and masculine as Aomine...needs constant reassurance I'm not hitting on him._

After we got settled in the room I turned to Aomine, "Get your bathing suit on, our first activity is starting soon. Everyone's probably already at the beach."

"Activity?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, I mean it is a school beach trip. We have activities planned for most of the week," I answered.

"I'm not doing that," Aomine said.

"You have to participate like everyone else," I replied.

"Nah," he grunted.

I sighed dramatically, "Oh well, I guess all the second year girls are just going to have to do without you."

I laughed as I caught Aomine glaring at me, "The activities won't be that bad."

I turned away from him and started to dig my bathing suit out of my suitcase. When I found it I turned around to see Aomine looking down at the ground and shifting his feet. Sighing internally but smiling on the outside I said to him, "You know Aomine, I won't be offended if you change in the bathroom."

Aomine scratched his head and mumbled a thanks before heading into the bathroom. _Sheesh. I almost wish I had never told him I liked guys. That wouldn't be fair either Kei._

When Aomine came out, I made it a point to keep my eyes on his face, although that was a hard thing to do. Why did Aomine have to be built like an actual god, I mean it's hard enough for me to keep myself together around decent looking half naked guys, let alone someone with perfectly sculpted muscles, someone who; while everyone else looks like some sad piece of raw meat, he looks like a perfectly cooked golden brown turkey- _I don't know where my mind was going with this analogy._

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at my own wacky train of thought and poor Aomine looked thoroughly confused, "I'm sorry," I said in between laughs, "I just thought of you as a turkey...we should go."

"Kei..are you...on drugs?" Aomine asked me in a concerned tone.

I smiled as I opened the door saying, "Oh, if only the explanation was that simple."

When we got down to the beach, Aomine and I were instantly swarmed by girls and began receiving glares from the rest of the males in the group. Contrary to Aomine who was gladly soaking up all the attention, I was battling my way through the crowd to get to the group of class representatives on the other side. I eventually reached them, breathing out a, "Hey guys." in greeting.

The four guys and two girls looked at me, "Hi Kei, finally here I see," one said.

I laughed, "Yep, so what's on the agenda for today?"

"Today's event is the scavenger hunt," one of the girls answered excitedly.

"We have such a small group this year, I think we're going to do pairs instead of teams," someone added.

"I wanna be Kei's partner," a girl said latching onto my arm.

"No fair, I want to be with him," another one said grabbing onto my other arm.

Two minutes and three girls later, I looked over at Aomine who was having the same problem I was. Two on each arm, one up against his back and against his chest, although he didn't seem to mind at all, unlike the male population of this trip who were shooting us dirty looks. One cleared his throat before saying loudly, "Since it's such an issue, Kei and Aomine should just be partners."

I laughed nervously. "Hah?" was Aomine's response.

"That's a great idea!" was the collective response of the class representatives.

I heard a great deal of sighing as the multiple tight grips around my body were released, "Why does it always have to be this way? When everyone wants something no one can have it," I heard a girl whine next to me.

 _Aomine I understand...but I don't,_ "Understand why you're attracted to me," I accidentally said out loud.

A girl I had unintentionally made eye contact with while busy with my thoughts blushed before shouting out, "Because you're beautiful!"

I gave her a startled expression before she spurted out, "I-I-I, mean, no matter who you'd end up with your children would be beautiful!" she yelled before running away.

"That was not...the answer I was expecting," I said slowly to myself.

Aomine walked up to me saying, "That chick just basically said she wants your children, I would look into that."

I smiled, "I don't even know her name."

Aomine shrugged, "Who cares? There's a really good chance you could get it in."

I elbowed him in the ribs, "Bad Aomine, a man should always respect a woman."

"Tch, she doesn't respect you. Her whole reason for liking you is because of your looks. Just like every girl that likes me, mutual respect doesn't exist," he huffed.

"What else are girls going to like you for? Your sharp intellect or your gentlemanly nature?" I laughed.

"I'm just kidding," I said softly punching his shoulder, "I know the real reason girls like you."

Aomine smirked at me, "Oh, and what's that?"

I held up my index finger answering, "Simple. You're boyish, and boyish guys can get away with anything."

Aomine narrowed his eyes, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

I laughed, "You're a little grumpy, you act like a little awkward kid fumbling through everything. Especially when you talk about sex, it just reveals how much of an adorable little innocent virgin you are."

"Oi, you don't know what I am," Aomine said angrily.

I chuckled, "But you make it so obvious."

"You know Kei, being an ass doesn't really look good on you," Aomine huffed.

I smiled, "Okay, I'll stop teasing you. On one condition. You have to start respecting women."

"Fine. Whatever," he grumbled.

"Okay! Now that everyone's paired up, grab your lists and the first one to gather pictures of all the items is the winner!" one of the representatives announced.

"And everyone, make sure to reapply your sunscreen in a couple of hours. We don't want anyone getting burned!" I added afterwards.

In the blink of an eye, Aomine had snatched the piece of paper and was looking at me with an intense expression. "We're gonna win this," he said in a steely tone.

I smiled, "It's only a friendly game Aomine."

"That would be the case if I was paired up with a hot chick," Aomine said glaring at me, "But now this is a competition. And I don't lose. The only one who can beat me is me," he finished pulling me harshly by the arm.

I grimaced. _There's that saying again. Doesn't he understand how much pressure he puts on himself by proclaiming that? It's only a scavenger hunt Aomine._ "What's the first item on the list?" I asked.

 **Aomine's POV:**

"What's the first item on the list?" Kei asked me.

"Writing in the sand," I answered.

"Do we have to write something in the sand or do we have to write it ourselves?" he questioned.

"Doesn't matter," I said walking away from him and grabbing a stick.

"They could've given clearer instructions," he mumbled to himself.

"Kei, come over and take a picture of this," I yelled.

Kei skipped over and looked at the image I had drawn in the sand before glaring at me and shouting, "Breasts are neither writing or appropriate for a school event!"

"Tch, fine," I said erasing it and writing something else.

Kei peered over my shoulder as I wrote, "Aomine...is...the...best...basketball...player," he read aloud.

He sighed and pulled out his phone, "Egotistical," he said to me and then smiled, "But appropriate."

"Next?" I asked.

Kei looked at the piece of paper, "Let's see, the next item is a bird feather."

I looked down the beach before looking back at him saying, "You're weak so stay here."

He gave me a confused look as I took off running down the beach. "I don't know whether to be offended or grateful you're doing all the physical labor!" I heard him shout after me.

I smirked, and then refocused as I approached my prey. My muscles coiled before I pounced on the unsuspecting creature with all the grace of a panther. _Heh. Even mother nature couldn't design something that can beat me._

"Aomine," Kei said quietly as I ran up to him and then said louder, "A bird feather, not the complete bird!"

"That'd take to long to find," I said as the white and grey bird struggled in my hands, "Just take a feather from this one."

Kei gave me a look of disbelief, "Are you asking me to pull a feather from the seagull."

"Yeah," I answered.

He shook his head side to side, "Nope, not doing it."

"Come on Kei," I said gruffly.

"No," he said determinedly, "We're not hurting an animal just to win, it's cruel."

"Tch, I'll just do it myself," I grunted.

As I was grappling with the bird that was twisting in my hands, I felt a sharp pain on my arm. I looked over to Kei, "Did you...did you just pinch me?"

"Yes, and I'm still pinching you," I heard him say as my gaze wandered down to wear a small piece of my skin was between two of his fingers.

"You do realize I could beat you to a pulp right now?" I said.

Kei nodded, "But it's worth it for the bird, and I think I could manage to pop a vein before you beat me up too bad."

I laughed and let the bird go, "There. Are you happy now?" I asked him.

"Yes," Kei laughed, "Now let's go find a stray feather."

It didn't take as long as I thought it would, my way was probably less effective. Even though Kei was too nice to say anything, I could see a tiny smug smile on his face. "The next thing?" I asked him.

"Coral," he replied.

"We're gonna have to go in the ocean for that," I observed.

"Did you want to get some while I get a picture of the lifeguard tower?" he asked.

"That's a good strategy," I said to him before jogging over to the water.

The water was cold, but I was able to find a piece of coral quick enough and head back over to Kei. Although Kei didn't seem like he was in that much of a hurry to get back to the hunt with the way he was talking to the lifeguard. I mean, Kei's supposed to be the one who's experienced with guys, does he not realize that guy he's talking to looks like a complete douchebag. _Maybe he wants that guy to be hitting on him. No. I refuse to believe that's Kei's type._ I walked over, grabbing Kei by the shorts saying, "We need to go."

"Hey, don't manhandle me," Kei whined.

"Whatever," I grumbled, "What's next?"

"Muscle," he said.

"Well that's easy," I said standing in front of him, "Go ahead. Take the picture, there's a lot to work with."

"What's wrong?" I asked when he just stood and frowned at me.

"M-u-s-s-e-l, mussel. You know, the mollusk?" he said.

"Oh," I said blushing in embarrassment. _Great Daiki. That's just great. The least he could've done was take a picture, my muscles are awesome._

"There's a bunch of things that we can find in the tidepools, mussels, starfish, and sand dollars," Kei said reading the list.

"I'll let you do that," I said to him as we walked over to the tidepools, "I'm not into marine life, I'm more of a mountain and insect man."

Kei laughed, "Do I even want to know what that means?"

"I used to play and collect insects like cicadas a lot when I was younger, I was always outside. How do you think my skin got this dark?" I said.

Kei looked up at me from the small pool of water he was bent over, "Is that why you're so dark? I thought it was genetic, you and your dad look alike."  
"Well my old man likes the outdoors too," I explained.

Kei nodded in understanding and then stood up, "That takes care of all the animals on the list, we only have one thing left."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something red," he replied.

 _Something red. Red. Looking at Kei now, he seems kind of red himself. Aw man, he's really burned._

"Aomine?" I heard him ask me.

"Kei," I said, "If we're looking for something red, I think you're it."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I lightly slapped his arm, "Ow, that stings," he said.

"You're sunburned all over, did you reapply your sunscreen?" I asked him.

"I forgot," he whimpered.

I snorted, "All that yelling at everyone to remember their sunscreen and you forgot about yourself, when you're the palest person out of all of us."

"Don't scold me," Kei said rubbing his arm, "Let's just get back to the meeting point, I think we'll be the first ones."

"No, we have to put something on your burns right away or you're gonna be in a world of pain later," I said.

"Here," Kei said handing me his phone, "Take this and I'll go back to the hotel room."

 _He's too nice._

 _It's really starting to get on my nerves again._

"What-" Kei started to ask me as I pushed him towards the hotel, "Shut up," I mumbled, "It's just that you don't know what the hell to put on it."

 **Kei's POV:**

I had been sitting on the bed in our empty hotel room for a good ten minutes now. Aomine had left as soon as we got there, saying he needed to get some "materials" for my burns. I was only slightly concerned. Slightly.

I turned my head when I heard the door open. Aomine walked in carrying a container of some white powder, a bowl, and a gallon of water. "What is that?" I asked him.

"Baking soda," Aomine answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I see," I said as he started mixing the baking soda and water in the bowl with his hand, "And what exactly do you plan on doing with that?" I asked him.

"I'm gonna put it on you," he said, "Now turn around."

I did as I was told and Aomine began slathering the thick paste on my back. I blushed furiously and tried to think of something other than Aomine's large manly hands rubbing up and down my back. My only saving grace was that I was so sunburned, so he probably wouldn't notice how red my face was. After Aomine had practically covered me in the mixture he washed his hands off saying, "Now keep this on for twenty minutes and then take a cold shower, and I mean a cold shower. If you take a warm one you'll start itching like crazy."

"Yes sir," I said laughing, "How do you know so much about this stuff anyway?"

"You think my permanent tan came without some pretty nasty burns?" Aomine asked, "I've tested every sunburn remedy that's out there and I know the stuff that works."

"That makes sense," I commented.

The next morning, I woke up to Aomine hovering over me with a tub of yogurt. Apparently that was the second part of my "treatment" but it didn't do my nerves any good as I attempted and failed at becoming a flustered mess. Thankfully Aomine didn't seem to notice, he was more upbeat than I'd seen him the whole entire trip. At first I thought it might be because I was in pain, but then I realized Aomine wasn't _that_ sadistic and I think he liked being of use.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

"Hey Aomine," I said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thanks for sticking by me the rest of the trip, you really didn't need to," I said.

Aomine yawned and laid out on the sand, "Wasn't a problem, and I don't know any of the people here except for you anyhow. They're all second years."

A day after Aomine's sunburn treatments I would say about ninety percent of my burns had cleared up completely, but I was still left with a couple painful ones that wouldn't permit me to participate in the activities. Currently, it was the night before we were supposed to leave and everyone had gathered on the beach to watch the last of the summer fireworks. "So tell me again why we're not with the group?" I asked Aomine as I laid down next to him.

"That damn bonfire's too bright, the fireworks will look better in the dark," Aomine answered.

Five minutes of silence later followed by popping noises and bright colors I muttered, "You were right, they do look better in the dark."

I didn't look at him, but I could just feel him smirking, "So now that we know that your team can't possibly win without you, what's next in basketball after the Interhigh?" I asked him.

"That'll be the Winter Cup," he replied, "And I'm not gonna let anyone take me out of the game this time, I'll win."  
"I'm sure you will," I said softly.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi there, major apologies for the late update, argh I hate leaving long times in between chapters but life was not kind enough to give me enough time to write

for this in the past month. Hopefully things'll clear up and I can update more often. Anyways, I'd like to thank the awesome people that read/favorite/review this

story. To **secret-sorrow** , thanks for the support and I'll do my best to keep it up. To **Keelan1210** , thanks and I'm glad you liked those parts of the chapter and

found them funny. To **HerBrokenSmile** , thank you so much and I'm really glad you feel like Kei fits the storyline because that's something that's really important

to me in my fics. Regarding Kei, all I'll say is that you're on the right track for sure. To **Soysuke** , thanks so much and I'm so happy you like this story , especially

the mango conditioner part because that's personally my favorite moment in this fic. To **cjenxx** , I'm glad you saw more of Kei's personality and character

development and you'll find out what Kei's hiding from Aomine...eventually. There will definitely be more of Kei's backstory in future chapters. To **Lil Guest** , thank

you and I'm glad you like the story. To **Sola Potterhead** , thanks and I'm happy that you like Kei as an OC especially the fact that he isn't girly because while the

whole seme/uke thing is cute sometimes, that isn't realistic and I try to stray away from that as much as possible. To **Morning-Star57** , I would imagine if you're

anything like Kei you two would be quite a pair. To **Terra Fair** , I have updated just now. To **Icera,** I'm happy you like Kei so much. I can see how he can seem

similar to Kise, I think he's just more of a cinnamon roll than Kise is lol, but that's probably because I tend to favor the cold blooded Kise in the manga who's

a little more of a sinnamon roll if you catch my drift.


	5. Chapter 5

**Aomine's POV:**

As I dried my hair with a towel, I heard the voice of our team's irritating center sneer at me, "Oh isn't this surprising? Not only have you showered, but you actually brought a pair of fresh clothes, so unusual for you. If only you spent that much time focusing on practice!" he finished angrily.

I turned my head and gave Wakamatsu a lazy look, "Shut the fuck up," I responded to the blonde who had a towel wrapped around his waist.

His face turned red in anger and I could tell he was about to start yelling, but Susa threw a towel over his head saying quietly, "Please don't antagonize him, we've managed to have a peaceful day so far."

"I wouldn't have to say anything if that ass did what he was supposed to do," Wakamatsu growled.

Susa sighed, "Just let Imayoshi deal with it."

Knowing Wakamatsu wasn't going to let it drop, I clenched and unclenched my fist in anticipation for the fight to come. It would've come to blows if Sakurai hadn't stumbled through the locker room mumbling apologies and sat down next to me. Wakamatsu backed off after that, not wanting to put the timid brunette in the middle of what was sure to become a physical fight. "You're wearing clean clothes," Sakurai said in a surprised tone.

"So?" I snapped at him roughly.

He jumped, "I'm sorry, sorry, it's just that you normally pile up used clothes in your locker and wear whatever you grab, sorry."

I scowled, "Is it because you're going over to Kei senpai's home for the first time today?" Sakurai asked innocently.

"Hah? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Nothing! Sorry!" he replied quickly, "But I'd definitely be nervous about being in Kei senpai's home, I mean he's so cool I'd be afraid to make a fool out of myself."

I snorted, "Kei's not cool."

"Maybe not in a conventional way, but he's really confident and always knows what to say to people and I think that's cool," Sakurai mumbled.

"I'm gonna be late," I grumbled and walked out of the locker room.

"What? Aomine-kun's worried about being on time?" Satsuki said in shock as I walked past her.

"Shut the hell up, I'm sick of all of you," I said with a scowl.

As I made my way out of the school I had to admit I was a little bit nervous. I mean, I know Kei lives alone but even if it's just us I don't want to offend him or anything. I've seen the way he's obsessed about everything being clean and orderly, I don't want to be a complete slob when I go over to his place. I ran a hand through my hair and felt my heart speed up as I grabbed a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket. _What the hell Daiki? Why are you so nervous, it's just Kei_ I thought to myself as I looked down at the address that he had neatly written down. I swallowed. _It's only five minutes away._

I wasn't surprised that I arrived at an apartment, I didn't think Kei would live in a big house by himself. I went up to the third floor and knocked on the door of his home. No answer. I knocked again. Nothing. I frowned, did I get the time wrong? No, Kei tracked me down at lunch to remind me. Deciding to call him and ask what the hell was up, I took my phone out but was stopped when my cell alerted me that I had twenty-six missed calls from Kei. "Huh, I guess my phone was on silent," I said out loud to myself.

I called him back and he answered out of breath, "Where the fuck are you?" I asked angrily.

"I'm so sorry," Kei said earnestly, "My manager made me work overtime at the last minute, you can go to my neighbor and get the spare key and let yourself in. I should be home in a half an hour or so."

"Oi you don't just let random people into your home, I could be some creep," I said with a slight blush on my cheeks. _I know I won't be able to resist poking around his stuff._

Kei chuckled lightly and I could perfectly picture how his eyes must've gently closed as his grin got wider and wider. I exhaled quickly, I didn't know why I was so hung up on Kei's smile anyway. _Maybe because you don't do that anymore Daiki. I mean what other reason could it be? It's not like you're attracted to Kei or anything, or are you?_ I scratched the back of my head aggressively in an attempt to get rid of the troublesome thoughts I was having. The only reason that comes to mind is because Kei digs guys, no other reason. I just have to stop acting weird, Kei already said he wasn't interested in me so there's nothing to worry about. _What if I want to have to worry about it?_ I scowled. _What did he mean he's not interested in me? What's wrong with me? I'm talented and extremely hot, he should be blushing and tripping over every word when he's around me._

"Aomine?" Kei's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Did you get all that?" he asked.

"All what?" I asked back.

I heard him sigh before giggling softly, "You weren't listening at all were you? I work at-" his voice cut off and I could hear the sound of dishes breaking in the background followed by a small voice whimpering, "Kei-senpai."

"Hold on a minute," I heard Kei say away from the phone before returning to our conversation, "I have to go, get the address for my workplace from my stalker. She's in the apartment to the right," he said hurriedly and hung up.

I stared at the wall as the call ended and the dial tone returned, "His...stalker?" I said to myself.

After I stood in silence for a moment to wrap my head around the stalker thing, I tentatively stepped to the right and knocked on the door next to Kei's. "Who is it?" a feminine muffled voice asked me from the other side of the door.

"My name's Aomine, I'm looking for Kei's...stalker," I answered hesitantly.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Kei sent me over here so you could tell me where he works," I said.

A minute passed before the door opened, revealing what seemed to be a girl in a jacket that was huge on her with sunglasses and a scarf wrapped around her face and head. She quickly handed me a piece of paper, "Thanks, I need this because Kei's tutoring me," I explained.

"I know, I know everything," she said and slammed the door on me.

"This is weird," I muttered to myself as I walked back the way I had come.

 **Kei's POV:**

"Kei, what have I told you about using the phone during a shift?" my manager questioned me.

"I wasn't planning on working late today so I had to move some things around," I answered calmly.

"Sorry Kei, I didn't mean to snap," my manager said tiredly, "Shiro's just causing me too much stress," she said.

I smiled as I glanced over to my clumsy coworker, "He's a handful, but you have to admit, he's great for business," I said winking at her.

She laughed halfheartedly, "Of course, but I don't know if it's worth the stroke I feel coming on."

"Don't worry, I'll look after him," I said touching her shoulder.

"You might want to start now," she said pointing forward.

I looked behind me and saw Shiro struggling to carry way too many drinks for someone his size. I waltzed over to him and managed to swipe the tray away before he managed to drop it. Grabbing his chin gently, I said in a charming voice, "Shiro-chan, what did I tell you about doing more than you can handle?"

He turned his eyes away and said in a pouty voice, "I just want to pull my own weight Kei-senpai."

I smiled softly and ruffled his hair, "We're a team right?" I asked.

A small intentional blush was on his face as he nodded, causing the female customers and the few male ones to coo and exclaim how cute that was. After I delivered the drinks to their designated table, I spotted Aomine standing at the entrance and giving me an extreme look of disappointment. Luckily I had been preparing myself for his criticism my entire shift so I was able to stride up to him unaffected. "Hi Aomine, I'm sorry for the change in plans," I said greeting him.

"Why am I not surprised you work in a place like this?" Aomine seemed to say to himself, "You already act like a host at school."

I laughed, _so he thought this was a host club?_ "You know Kamiko said the same thing to me, you two think alike for people who don't like each other very much," I observed.

"Shut up," Aomine grumbled.

"I still have almost a half an hour on my shift, are you hungry? We have teriyaki burgers," I offered.

"Sure," he said grumpily as I sat him down at a table and then proceeded to go back to waiting tables.

After around twenty minutes I finished working and sat down with Aomine, who was still eating. Shiro buzzed around me, "Kei-senpai, who is this?" he asked me.

"This is Aomine Daiki, I'm tutoring him," I answered, "Aomine, this is Shiro-chan, one of my coworkers."

"Nice to meet you Aomine-kun," Shiro said bashfully.

Aomine gave him a grunt in response and kept chewing his food, "Kei, why do you always bring in these behemoth teenage boys. They're going to eat me out of business," my manager asked me dramatically.

"Don't be so catastrophic," I laughed at her, "Plus, it's been almost a month since I treated a friend."

She waved me off, "It's fine, just don't make it a regular thing. I don't think I could deal with your neighbor _and_ this new one."

"Speaking of neighbors...you're stalker?" Aomine asked me.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, it's rude," I chided him.

"You don't think you can just casually have a stalker and expect me to let that go," Aomine said ignoring me.

"Fine," I sighed, "The only thing I really know about her is that she's the granddaughter of one of the old men that lives in the apartment next to mine. She spies on me and occasionally steals my clothes if I leave them outside."

"That's creepy as hell, you should call the police," Aomine said sternly.

I smiled, "I don't think that's necessary, it's pretty harmless."

Aomine snorted, "Yeah, it's "harmless" now, just wait until she's skinning you alive in that apartment."

Aomine didn't give me time to reply before he asked, "So does this stalker live with this basketball obsessed neighbor I keep hearing so much about?"

I froze at his question. Shit. I really don't think now's the time to bring up Kagami, Aomine seems to be in a goodish mood for once. I laughed nervously, "No, that's a different neighbor."

Aomine nodded in understanding, "You should be more careful about the types of people you let around you Kei, I don't think it's good to let these people in," he said gruffly.

"Aomine, is that a hint of jealousy I detect?" I joked.

Aomine's cheeks were tinted a light pink as he told me to fuck off. I laughed loudly, "I'm sorry Aomine, but sometimes it's just too easy to tease you."

He frowned at me and I recovered quickly, "Are you finished eating?" I asked him.

Aomine nodded and stood up, motioning for me to follow him out of the restaurant. Once we were outside I stopped and smelled the fresh evening air, "It'll be getting cold in a month or two," I said absentmindedly.

"Come on," Aomine demanded impatiently.

"Yes dear," I teased and then followed him wondering all the while why he was the one leading the way when we were going to _my_ apartment.

 **Aomine's POV:**

When Kei turned the key and opened the door to his home the one thing I notice right off the bat was the smell or lack thereof. It didn't smell like cleaning products which I had expected, but rather there was no difference in smell between outside and his home. I guess I was a little disappointed, each home tends to have it's own distinct scent. My nose wrinkled in memory, _Kise's house smelled like perfume, body spray, and air freshener. Midorima's...incense, Murasakibara's place always smelled like food, Tetsu's smelled like their garden, Akashi's was...leather, new leather...and I spend way too much time at Satsuki's to know what her house smells like anymore. I was looking forward to seeing what Kei's was._

Kei turned to me, "I'm going to change out of my uniform, I'll be out in three minutes."

I looked him up and down, "Please, I can't take you seriously in that getup," I said referring to his "uniform" which was a flashier version of a normal high school uniform.

I heard him laugh before disappearing behind the other door in the apartment. _Crap. I'm stuck in the exact situation I didn't want to be in. I can't help myself. I have to look around._

Looking around the living room which consisted of a simple white couch, chair, and table; I immediately caught the culprit behind Kei's scentless apartment. The door to his patio was wide open, causing the curtain to flow back and forth with the wind. _I doubt this'll be open in winter, maybe then I could see what it smells like._ I had to laugh at myself, I was just warning Kei about his stalker and here I am obsessed over the scent of his home. _You don't even know if Kei will still be tutoring you when winter comes around._

I wandered into Kei's kitchen and smirked when I saw everything was in it's exact spot, always in multiples of three. Just as I had expected. At the sound of Kei opening the door to his room, I practically threw myself on the couch to appear like I wasn't just rooting around his apartment. "Okay, finally ready to get down to business," he said cheerfully as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah," I said in a distracted tone, I wanted to get a peek of Kei's room but he had closed the door behind him too quickly.

Kei spread out the notebooks we needed on the coffee table and sat down right next to me on the couch. His knee connected with mine when he reached for a textbook and I blushed at the sudden contact. _Dammit Daiki, stop acting like a flustered school girl. He has to be doing on purpose._ I looked at his face, which was completely unbothered by our closeness and it pissed me off.

 _Oh, I see. So you're not interested enough to be embarrassed because of me._

 _Well fuck you too._

 _Fuck it Daiki, why are you reading into this so much?_

I couldn't help myself, Kei was so weird. I knew when he was being a people pleasing smiley face, but I hadn't figured out what was underneath that. He'd made such an effort to get close to me, I just wanted to return the favor. I wonder if he could see that I was trying. _I'm not good at being a friend._

 _I used to be._

I looked over at Kei and his calm demeanor and smirked. _Why he isn't attracted to me is a mystery in itself._

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

"What are you so happy about?" Kamiko questioned me.

I looked up and smiled at her, "It's so peaceful right now, isn't it?"

"We're just filling out paperwork like we do every day after school, there's nothing exceptionally peaceful about it," she said boredly.

"Maybe not for you, but my life's been pretty hectic lately so this quietness is everything to me right now," I said wistfully.

Kamiko gave me an unamused stare before her gaze was redirected back down to the stack of papers in front of her. Despite Kamiko's objection, I couldn't help but beam as I returned to my work. Things had been more stressful since Aomine made his way into my life, but not in a bad way. If everyone in the world was just like me it would be a pretty boring place, and I'd never be of any use to anyone which would suck. Although I hadn't realized how worried I had been about Aomine until things settled down this week. There'd been no scuffles, no issues, his grades have been going up steadily, and he seems to be showering on a regular basis. "Kei, I'm used to your smiling but it's getting creepy now," Kamiko complained.

"Sorry," I sighed and hid my face in my elbow as I smiled wider.

 _Maybe I was leaving a lasting impression on him after all._

"Seriously Aomine-kun, you need to stop!" I heard a high pitched voice yell before the door to the student council room opened and Momoi ran in.

"What are you doing?" I asked Kamiko as she stood up.

"Leaving," she answered plainly.

I cocked my head, "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Somewhere away from-" she sighed and flicked her hand towards the door as Aomine came barrelling in, "this," she finished.

"Why won't you even consider it? This is really important to me!" Aomine shouted as I watched Kamiko slip past him and out the door.

"Kei, make him stop," Momoi cried as bent over the desk to wrap her arms around my neck.

 _Oh well, so much for peace._

I looked at Aomine, "Um, what exactly is all this about?" I tried to ask in my most soothing voice.

"Only the most important thing to ever happen in the history of time," Aomine said passionately before throwing an open magazine my way.

My eyes widened as I read the ad it was opened up to, "See?" Momoi whined, "See what he wants me to do?"

"This might be the only chance in my life I'll get to meet Mai-chan and you're going to make me miss it?" Aomine growled angrily.

"You'd really ask to put someone as beautiful as me in the middle of all those perverted men?" Momoi snapped back.

"God Satsuki, stop being so dramatic," Aomine scoffed.

"Question," I said raising my hand, "Why do you have to go with him?"

"To be his conscience," Momoi huffed, "Or in the words of his mom, "'To keep him from doing anything sleazy."'

"Why are you so worked up, it's just an anime convention," I asked her.

"That's main event just so happens to be a meet and greet with a gravure idol," she cried, "Every single slimy guy in Tokyo will be there and only Tetsu-kun can have impure thoughts about my body."

"It's horrible!" she yelled, "Don't you agree Kei?" she asked me.

"Well," I laughed nervously, "I think it'd be hypocritical of me to say it's horrible, given the fact I have plans to go to this myself."

Aomine laughed, "Well, well, well, there just might be half a straight guy in you."

Momoi looked at me wide eyed, "Are you really going to see her Kei?"

I gave her a confused look before laughing, "No, gravure idols aren't my thing. I'm going to meet the mangaka of a manga I used to love when I was a kid," I explained.

Aomine snorted, "What a nerd, someone should tell you it's time to let go of your childhood Kei."

"Says the person who still has the stuffed animal he used to sleep with," Momoi said tartly.

"Oi, don't bring shit like that up!" Aomine yelled, and then said in an angry whisper, "And leave Mr. Snuggle out of this."

"No need to be ashamed Aomine, I came across it when I was cleaning your room, although I didn't know his name. Did you name him yourself?" I asked.

"Both of you...need to shut up," Aomine said heatedly.

Momoi ignored him and turned to me pleading, "Kei, can I please stay with you the entire convention? I know you'll protect me."

I gave her a halfhearted smile, "Momoi, I think we all know Aomine is the strongest physically, I think you should stay with him."

"But we should meet up for lunch and if you ever feel like you're in danger just text me and I'll find you. I know that convention venue by heart," I said in response to the crestfallen look she gave me.

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

When I first stepped foot inside the convention center, I was reminded of one of the things I hate most in the world. People. There were swarms of them everywhere, like swarms of bees. And I hate bees too.

 _I miss my roof._

"Aomine-kun, there's Kei," Satsuki said tugging on my sleeve.

I looked around and started walking towards the blonde head that stood tall above everybody else and sure enough, after Satsuki called his name a thousand times, Kei's green eyes framed by his glasses and screwy smile came into view. He slipped through the crowd seamlessly and approached us, "Good morning," he said smiling.

"Mornin," I grunted in reply.

"Could you be any more rude?" Satsuki chided me.

"Tch, there ain't nothing good about this morning, so why would I say it?" I replied.

"I thought you'd be happy, you know, getting to meet Horikita-san and all," Kei said with furrowed eyebrows and a concerned pout.

"I'll be happy when she's in front of me. For now I'm surrounded by a bunch of stupid sweaty people," I said unhappily.

"He gets grumpy when he's tired," Satsuki apologized for me.

Kei frowned, "Why are you tired, did you get enough sleep?" he asked, stepping closer to look at my face.

I blushed slightly at the closeness before he started laughing, "What's so funny?" I demanded.

"Sorry Aomine...I just can't tell if you're tired because you always have bags under your eyes," he said smiling sheepishly.

"See," Satsuki giggled, "I told you that all that scowling was going to make you look like an old man."

"You're annoying," I said to her while yawning.

"Geez," Satsuki sighed before looking at her cell phone, "Aomine-kun, we should get in line soon. Kei, you'll be fine by yourself right?" she asked him.

He laughed, "I'll be fine," he reassured her.

Satsuki nodded and started pulling me by the arm mumbling, "It's your event, I don't see why _I'm_ making sure you're on time."

I looked back at Kei as Satsuki dragged me through the sea of people; his face was intensely focused on the small book he had in his hands, he seemed completely oblivious to anyone around him. I sighed inwardly, if only I could be that oblivious to irritating people; I don't even know how I'm going hold up between now and meeting Mai-chan. I just hope all these damn people won't take a long ass time.

It took four hours. Four fucking hours. Just to get close to the table Mai-chan was sitting at. If that wasn't already annoying enough, there were a couple of Mai-chan's fellow idols hanging around the line. They were probably here to pacify the people in line, but they all seemed to think I was a safe place to land amongst the crowd of old perverts and horny teenagers. Normally I would like the attention from these chicks, they all were cute and had nice racks, but today I was on a mission. I recognized them, but Mai-chan is all I care about right now, my only objective is to meet her. Screw the rest of them, I already had Satsuki to worry about. I'm not their protector just because I'm tall, for all they know I could be the perviest asshole in this whole room. Women. And they say we judge _them_ by their looks. "Aomine-kun stop laughing like that," Satsuki said and placed a hand on my forehead, "You're not having a nervous breakdown because you're meeting her are you?" she asked me.

I swatted her hand away, "No, I just thought of something funny."

"What?" she asked.

"Not telling," I answered.

"Aomine," she whined.

"You'll just yell at me," I said raising my voice and looking away.

Satsuki sighed, "What is your idol even doing at this anime convention anyway?"

"She's a voice actor for some anime, Mai-chan has more talents than modeling ya'know," I replied.

"Oh I'm sure," Satsuki said sarcastically.

I glared at her before the line moved up. This was it, I was one person away from meeting her. I gripped her photobook in my hand tightly and swallowed thickly as the person in front of me walked away. Trying to keep my legs as steady as possible, I walked up to the table. Man, she was more gorgeous in person than any photo I had ever seen of her. Her flawless pale skin and short silky black hair was stunning and left me speechless. Literally. All I could do was awkwardly hand her the photo book in my trembling hand. She let out a small laugh, not like Kei's big ones and asked, "Your name?"

"Huh?" I asked stupidly.

She laughed again, "Your name?" she said holding a pen up, "So I can sign it."

"Oh yeah, um, it's Aomine. Aomine Daiki," I said with an embarrassed blush on my face.

"You're pretty tall Aomine," she commented.

I scratched the back of my head, "Thanks, I play basketball."

"Do you? That'd explain why you look so...athletic," she said and then giggled, "I don't know a thing about sports."

On a knee jerk reaction I smirked and said, "I know a lot about sports, I bet I could teach you a thing or two."

She smiled, "Sounds fun, oh, is this your girlfriend?" she asked looking at Satsuki.

"No," Satsuki answered quickly, "We're neighbors."

 _Just neighbors huh?_

 _That's right, I'm not Dai-chan anymore._

 _You might as well have gone to Seirin with Tetsu._

Glancing down at Satsuki, I could understand why Mai-chan thought we were together. She had pushed herself as close to me as possible and was looking down at the floor and shifting her feet uncomfortably. Anyone watching would probably just think she was my girlfriend who was irritated by the attention I was giving Mai-chan, but looking around at all the leering men who were eyeballing her and observing how close they had gotten during our stay at the table, I saw the real reason. "Thanks for the autograph," I sighed and grabbed Satsuki, "But we gotta go," I said starting to walk away.

"Wait, come by the booth later and we can talk more kay?" she asked cutely.

"Sure thing," I said smirking.

 _My greatest fantasy just came true. Today isn't as annoying as I thought._

"You know she's just interested in you because of your looks," Satsuki said.

"So you admit I'm sexy?" I said.

"Ahomine," she muttered under her breath.

"Oi, I told you to stop calling me that," I said angrily.

"Sorry," she said touching my arm, "And thank you for getting me out of there, you really do care," she sung.

"Tch, don't read too much into it," I said shrugging her off, "Don't we have to meet up with Kei?" I asked, changing the subject.

"That's right, let me text him," Momoi said taking out her phone.

When we found Kei, he was sitting at a table with a group of weirdly dressed people. That isn't surprising, Kei manages to make friends wherever he goes. "Kei!" Satsuki shouted as she waved to him.

He turned back to the people he was with and said something before making his way up to us, "Hey guys, how was meeting Horikita-san?" he asked.

I drifted off into a daze, recalling how she had asked me to see her later. I heard Kei laugh, "I suppose that means it went well."

"She asked him to come back," Satsuki explained.

 **Kei's POV:**

"Hey guys, how was meeting Horikita-san?" was the first thing I said when I saw them.

Aomine just stared off into space while clutching his book to his chest, "I suppose that means it went well," I said to Momoi.

"She asked him to come back," she elaborated.

"Then it went great," I said smiling.

 _That's not shocking. They're sort of close in age. And Aomine is extremely attractive. If only it was that easy to get guys like Aomine to like me like that. Unfortunately, I think I'd have to magically grow a pair of breasts to accomplish that_.

"So how did the meeting go with the mangaka?" Momoi asked me as we sat down.

"Oh that event's in the evening, I'll have to get in line after lunch," I answered.

"I see, if you're staying later then that means we can walk home together right?" Momoi suggested.

"Yep," I said happily.

"Um, I don't know if you brought food yourself, but I took the liberty of making you one," Momoi said as she pulled out three bento boxes.

"I made one," I said pulling it out, "But I think I'd rather have yours, especially since you went out of your way."

Aomine seemed to come out of his stupor because I heard him grunt and laugh, "It's your funeral," he said.

"Aomine," I said narrowing my eyes slightly, "That's not a nice thing to say."

"Tch. It's the truth, Satsuki can't cook to save her life," he insisted.

"He's right," Satsuki sighed.

"Should've brought Sakurai along, he'd have some edible food," Aomine muttered.

I opened the box without hesitation saying, "Even if it isn't a gourmet meal, the important thing is that you tried, and you should keep trying, because that's the only way you improve!" I said cheerily before digging in.

"I'm not calling an ambulance for you," Aomine said leaning back in his chair.

"It's not that bad, stop being so dramatic," I said after I swallowed.

Sure Momoi's food was horrible, but it was nothing compared to the atrocities that I used to cook up in the kitchen when I was younger and first on my own. "Kei," Momoi said as her eyes lit up, "You're the sweetest person ever."

"Insane is what he is," Aomine said reaching over the table and grabbing the bento I made.

"Aomine, stop stealing people's lunches," Momoi yelled at him.

"He isn't eating it," Aomine said with his mouth full and then looked at me, "Oi, this is really good."

I blushed at the compliment, "Thanks," I mumbled.

"Let me try some," Momoi whined.

"No," Aomine said, protecting the bento with his arm, "You have your own."

"So selfish," Momoi pouted.

I laughed as I finished the Momoi's bento and said, "I'm sorry to leave so soon, but I should get in line now."

"Mmkay, we'll see you afterward?" Momoi responded.

"Yeah, see you later," I said waving and receiving a goodbye from Momoi and a grunt from Aomine.

I got there way too early for any normal human being, the staff was still setting up the event when I arrived. Not deterred by being the first person there, I sat down on the ground where the line started and started reading some manga that I had picked up earlier. After two hours passed I heard a voice above me chuckle and say, "My, you're here early."

I jumped at the voice at first, but I was glad that another person had come. _They're talking to me, so maybe they're friendly and we can pass the time together._

I was hoping for an amicable fellow fan, but what greeted me when I looked up made my jaw drop to the floor. "S-e-se-n-n-sei," I managed to sputter out.

My heart started to beat frantically as my favorite manga artist on earth smiled at me warmly and said, "It's unusual for fans to arrive before I do."

I couldn't see it but my face was probably a thousand shades of red, "I wanted to be first in line," I managed to squeeze out.

He chuckled and sat down next to me. I went stiff as he said, "Sitting like this reminds me of a time I went to these things as an aspiring mangaka. I've been sitting in chairs for too long," he said playfully sticking his tongue out at me.

I relaxed a little and smiled, "There's something nice about being just an attendee isn't there?"

I ended up talking to sensei for three hours, I had written him a 34 page typed fan letter but since I got the chance I told him every thought I had put down instead of giving it to him. As masses of people began to show up I could tell that people were getting annoyed with me for taking up so much of his time. I scratched my head and grinned, "I'm sorry for talking your ear off, you've probably heard all this stuff before."

"Not in such detail," he said putting his hand on my shoulder, "Believe me, having a special fan like you makes my work all worth it."

Sensei looked at a woman motioning to him, "Ah, I think we're starting," he said getting up, "Well Kei, you're the first one."

"Oh right," I said standing up quickly and fishing around my bag for the volume of manga I brought for him to sign.

"My, I never realized how tall you were," he whistled.

My face flushed, "I get that a lot. Here," I said handing him the book.

His eyes widened, "This is the special edition of the first volume of my first manga, you've been a fan this long?" he asked.

I nodded quickly, "Are you in college?" he questioned.

"Highschool," I answered.

He frowned and then looked me up and down, "What year in highschool?"

A wave of discomfort washed over me, "I'm a second year," I said quietly.

He smiled slyly, "My, well, make sure to see me more often," he said handing me the book back.

I gave him a small smile before turning around and walking off as fast as I could manage. After about three minutes I realized that I didn't have my glasses. _No wonder everything's so blurry._ I took them off while I was talking to Sensei because they were smudged and all my shirt had done was rub the grease around the whole lens so I had given up and set them on the ground. They were probably still there. A combination of not wanting to go back there and a text from Momoi asking if I was done made me choose to abandon them. After all, I had two spare pairs at home and I was walking back with people who could make sure I didn't walk into traffic or into a pole. At least Momoi would.

"Kei, what happened to your glasses?" Momoi asked when I found them outside the entrance.

"I lost them," I laughed, "Everyone always talks about losing glasses, but no one talks about how hard it is to find them when you're almost completely blind without them."

"Do we need to go back?" she asked.

"It's fine," I said shaking my head.

"Then let's go," Aomine said demandingly.

"What's up with him?" I asked Momoi as we followed him.

She sighed, "Mai-chan invited other boys and Aomine-kun doesn't like competition."

"I see," I said quietly.

"KEI!" I heard someone shout behind us.

I looked back and saw Sensei jogging over to us. I tensed up as he came close to me, "You forgot these," he said breathlessly as he handed my glasses.

He stroked the underside of my wrist with his fingertips when I took the glasses from him and I shivered, jerking away and looking down, "Thank you," I said quietly.

He smiled, "No problem, anything for you Kei."

I looked up and saw Aomine scowling at Sensei, "We have to go," he growled and pulled me by the back of my shirt.

"Aomine, how rude, I'm sorry," I heard Momoi apologize faintly as Aomine dragged me away.

My cheeks burned hotter than I'd ever felt them before. I couldn't even stand to look at Aomine. _What the hell Aomine? Isn't it already bad enough that you're probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous human to ever exist, you now have to act like this? Don't you know possessive guys are my weakness? Don't you know when you grab me like that it makes me want to jump in your lap and beg you to take me? No Kei. No. Bad thoughts. Aomine is your underclassman who knows nothing of life. He needs your guidance, not your selfish fantasies, get it together. Get. It. Together._

* * *

 _Hi there! I just want to thank all the people who read/favorite/follow this story and especially the people who take the time to leave reviews. To **Keelan1210** , thank you for your review, both the Winter Cup and the scene where Aomine finds out about Kagami are both pretty interesting so...stay tuned. To **Bob** , thank you and I'll try to update as quick as I can. To **Soysuke** , aw I love you too and I'm really glad you like the story. Sorry to leave long times between updates but life is unforgivingly hectic at this moment. To **Guest** , thank you for your review, I'm glad you like the slow burn feel Aomine and Kei have going on right now and Sugawara happens to be one of my many sports anime children and it makes me so happy you think Kei is like him. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Kei's POV:**

I stood up and yawned, simultaneously stretching my limbs and looking out of the student council room window. The sky was colored somewhere in between a cerulean and light navy and the school was almost completely deserted except for the occasional stray teacher. My cell phone showed me it was close to five-thirty and I should leave soon or else I was going to be late for work. I began the arduous task of trying to fit all the papers I needed into my bag, it was three weeks into the new term so there was more work to be done than usual for the student council. I had to talk to so many people today I honestly wish I could curl up in my bed and stay there for the next year without anyone bothering me. "Kei?" I heard a deep male voice say as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

I looked to the doorway and smiled, "Katsunori-sensei."

The man returned my smile but it was soon replaced with a frown, "Kei, I need to talk to you about something." he said twisting his indigo locks.

"What is it?" I asked, slightly hesitant because of his foreboding tone.

"You've done a really good job with Aomine. He's made leaps and bounds since you started tutoring him. It's because of you that he's even able to play in official games," he stated.

"Thank you sensei, that praise means a lot coming from you," I said lowly.

What is he trying to say? That Aomine doesn't need me anymore? Is he going to ask me to stop tutoring him? Maybe he thinks I'm a distraction? Why would he think that? Maybe Aomine told him that I was interested in men as well and Katsunori-sensei thinks I have ulterior motives? Maybe Aomine feels uncomfortable around me and told sensei he doesn't want to see me anymore? "I need to ask you for a favor," Katsunori-sensei said.

"What favor?" I asked fearfully.

Katsunori-sensei fiddled with his hair, "You've had such an impact on him, even more than someone like Momoi has been able to achieve, and they've been friends for years. I was wondering...I was wondering if you could convince Aomine to start coming to practice."

I was caught up in a tornado of relief when I answered, "Of course sensei, I'll do my best to help Aomine."

"Thank you," Katsunori-sensei sighed and then chuckled, "Now I'll have to worry about him and Wakamatsu clawing each other's eyes out when they have to see each other on a regular basis."

"Sensei, I think you're overestimating my influence on Aomine. I said I'd try, but I don't know if he'll listen to me in the end," I said softly.

"Oh, he will," Katsunori-sensei said walking out, "You always come through Kei."

"That just puts twice the pressure on me and I'll feel twice as bad if he decides not to go," I mumbled to myself after he left.

 **Aomine's POV:**

If I had to describe these past few weeks the word I would use would be peaceful. Or harmonious. Maybe I was just a little bit happy. I'm keeping up with my grades more than I was doing before Kei, so my teachers had gotten off my case for the most part. They didn't really care if I showed up anymore, just as long as I was getting passing grades so they wouldn't have to bother with me. I actually think they like it better when I'm not there, something about being "disruptive" to the learning environment. What a bunch of crap. They should try being 6"4 and squeezing into a desk that was made for someone a foot shorter than me. Absolutely no leg room at all. And I kissed any chances of being able to sit anywhere but the last row goodbye way back in middle school. Things like this make a guy grumpy. Add that to the fact that every five minutes a girl "accidentally" falls on my lap or that some female teachers feel the need to spend a little more time around me than necessary, and suddenly I'm a disruption.

It's the same with the basketball team. They're all the same, there isn't anything special about them. They beg me to come here to play basketball and then bitch about how I don't want to come to their practices. What could I possibly learn? I'm better than every single one of them. Every. Single. One. The only ones who'd be benefiting from that would be those pathetic little weaklings someone would call my teammates, and I'm not here to roleplay sensei.

It's a pretty dismal existence I'll admit that, but life's easier when you're alone. No one gets hurt and you don't either. Well, it's less dismal with Kei. I'm beginning to think his happiness is contagious, I mean it's really hard to be in a bad mood around him and it's nice going over to his place. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday like clockwork; I would meet Kei at that host club he worked at, we'd walk to his apartment, and I'd spend a couple of hours studying. Most of the times Kei would cook dinner, but when his manager wasn't there he'd treat me to a couple burgers. It was nice, it felt real nice for someone to do that for me, even if it was something simple like "forgetting" to charge me for my meal. It was few and far between that people did things like that for me, but I'm not exactly going out of my way to do things for people so I can't really expect shit like that. I don't act the same anymore, people barely want to be around me, hell, Satsuki can't even stand me most days.

I don't know, it's all a little too much for me to wrap my head around. I'm not much of a feelings guy in the first place, and I couldn't tell you why I think the way I do nowadays if I tried. With Kei it was easier, he was warm and wasn't judgy at all; I could tell him anything and he'd listen and actually care. Not that I would, we weren't that close. Plus, I'm a guy, men don't talk about their feelings. Although, he'd been distant lately; he said it was because of how busy he was with the student council, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was mad at me for being rude to that manga artist. What was I supposed to do? Just let that creep ogle him, Kei sure wasn't going to do anything about it. Oh, well there's nothing I can do about it now.

I know I said Kei and I weren't that close, but from the amount of consideration he treated everything else in life I expected more from him. "You want me to do what?" I asked him in disbelief.

"Please," Kei said quietly.

I was aggravated to say the least, "No fuckin way, and you should know better."

"Aomine," he sighed in exasperation, "I just think it could be good-"

I cut him off angrily, "You think?! When the hell did you become the person who thinks whether things are good for me or not, I have parents Kei. I'm not your fucking side project."

I wanted to run out because this conversation was getting dangerously close to the one we'd had shortly after we'd met. I definitely wanted to get out when looking at Kei, I think I'd have preferred a bookcase falling on him again. His eyes were watery, and his lip trembled from trying not to cry. "I was just trying to help," he said shakily and climbed down from the roof.

"Why do you have to be such a dumbass?" I asked myself after he was gone.

* * *

I didn't feel like any less of a dick when I woke up this morning and I wasn't any less irritated on my way to school. I passed by a bookstore with a gigantic poster of Kei's stupid ass sensei in the window. That short asshole's jet black hair and beady dark blue eyes made me want to go in and rip the damn thing to shreds. I could hear it perfectly in my head, "My" he'd say as he indiscreetly eyed Kei's crotch. What a tool, I don't know what Kei would see in a guy like that. He was average height, which for Kei and I was short, and didn't Kei say his last boyfriend was around my height?

Maybe it was the age? Kei's sensei's at least in his early thirties, could it be he likes older men? Maybe that was the reason he was so unwilling to say who his ex-boyfriend was, he might get in trouble with the law. Let's see, Kei's seventeen now, but he was sixteen last year so it'd still be illegal if they were doing it, but it's not like anyone could prove that now. Maybe the guy's married? No, Kei would never do something like that. His ex is probably some guy with a career where he didn't want anyone to know he was seeing a guy. That's probably it.

I don't know why I was thinking about this while I was walking to school when I should've been thinking what I was going to say to Kei, planning my apology out, because now I'm just standing in the doorway of the student council room speechless.

Kei's back was turned to me and I shifted my feet, coughing to get his attention. He twirled around and gave me a smile, "Good morning Aomine, what are you doing here so early?" he asked.

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment before a smirk made its way onto my face. Oh, so we're pretending like nothing ever happened? Well, two can play at that game.

 **Kei's POV:**

I was wary of the look Aomine was giving me, all I wanted to do was forget that yesterday ever happened. I should've expected he was going to react like that, but things had been going so smoothly lately I just thought he might go if I asked him. There's nothing more I can do now though, I don't want to create any more tension with Aomine so Katsunori-sensei will just have to understand. I really didn't want to let him down.

And the smug look Aomine was giving me wasn't helping things. I wish I could tell him enough already, you won I lost. You managed to remain unmoved while the poor sap of a student council president started crying because you were yelling at him. You're big and strong and I'm pathetic and weak. I just want to move on and ignore yesterday's humiliation, but I don't know if Aomine will let that happen.

Thankfully the bell rang, "Okay, goodbye," I said with a smile and started walked hurriedly to my classroom.

I don't really know how I knew there was a presence looming over me on my way there, but I felt it. And one look out of the corner of my eye confirmed my suspicions, there was a tall smirking basketball player following me. I turned my eyes back to straight ahead of me, wondering why Aomine was behind me when his classroom was on the other side of the school. He's probably not following me, I don't even know why I would think that. Maybe he's going to the gym? But I thought he made it expressly clear he didn't want anything to do with anything that had the word "practice" in it. Maybe he's just heading there to terrorize Katsunori-sensei or any basketball players that might be hanging around. That's probably it.

My theory died as I entered the classroom with Aomine still behind me. Maybe he was here to see a girl? That one bit the dust when I sat down and he sat in the empty seat behind me without a word to anyone. I turned to face him asking, "Aomine, what are you doing?"

He looked at me lazily and yawned, "You seem to like following me around and bothering me, I just thought I'd return the favor."

I frowned at him and turned back around. "You can be so immature," I said quietly under my breath.

"What was that?" Aomine asked in a mildly amused tone.

"Nothing," I said softly.

My teacher came in after that, gave a concerned look my way, and asked, "Aren't you a first year? This isn't your class," she said to Aomine.

"I'm just here to prove a point, ma'am," Aomine said condescendingly.

"Okay," she said brushing it off, "Just keep up the good work, you're representing Touou well."  
Wow, I'm surprised sensei just let that slide, she's usually such a hard ass. I guess being the ace of the basketball team gets you a lot of passes in school. I just wish that the leniency that he's experiencing won't impact my classes today too much, all I can do is try to ignore him as much as possible.

It wasn't easy, with Aomine occasionally blowing in my ear or flicking things at the back of my head, but I managed to get to lunch. "Seriously," I said to him as I took out my food, "Are we back in elementary school? Why are you doing this?"

Aomine smirked, "Because it's fun," he said as he stole some of my food.

"Can you really afford to skip all of your classes for something this childish?" I asked him.

"Would've skipped them anyway," he answered, "The sun's not out so there's no point in going to the roof, I didn't have anything better to do," he said slyly.

"Aomine, it's important to go to class," I scolded him.

"Okay, _mom_ ," he said mockingly.

"Where do you think you'll get in life without a decent education?" I questioned him.

"I'm athletic, I don't need to be smart," he scoffed.

"That may be true but it's not like you're working on that either. To be successful at anything you need to practice and work hard, even though it's not happening now, someday you'll go up against someone's who's better than you because there is always somebody better than anyone at anything in the world, and you won't be prepared because you spent your entire high school career wasting away on a roof because you thought no one was worth your time," I said.

"Whatever," he grunted and reached across my desk.

"Why did you take that?" I asked him.

Aomine smirked and twirled the pencil between his fingers, "Because I know only having two for the rest of your classes will bug the shit out of you."

"I've only known you for a couple of months Aomine, why do you know my greatest weaknesses?" I mumbled under my breath and earned a chuckled from the navy blue head resting on the desk behind me.

It was hard to concentrate the next couple of hours due to the sheer amount of torture I was being put through. I was writing with one pencil and periodically looking at the lonely cylindrical piece of plastic on my desk. It didn't feel right and it was not okay, I needed three for a reason. Finally, after many hours of longing for my pencil class ended and I was hoping that Aomine would willingly give it back.

Although I'd wanted to get the pencil back without any fuss, I had been expecting a little bit more of a fight. I looked at him and smiled, "Aomine, this is not acceptable. If you're going to stalk someone then you have to do it right," I said reclaiming ownership of the pencil that was in Aomine's loose grip.

Aomine snored lightly in response, "Aomine, you better wake up or you're not going to be able to continue to annoy me," I said touching the sleeping teen's shoulder gently.

Aomine stirred slightly and opened his eyes, "What?" he asked yawning.

"I have to go to the student council room," I answered lightheartedly.

Aomine looked at me with bleary eyes before wordlessly following me out of the classroom. Given how tired he was acting, I wasn't surprised that he plopped down in the seat next to me and continued his nap as soon as we got there. "What is he doing here?" Kamiko asked me with a disdainful look on her face.

I laughed, "He's been shadowing me all day, I guess giving me a taste of my own medicine, but-" I looked down at sleeping figure next to me and continued, "It's Aomine, so he's doing it in his own way."

"Whatever, as long as it's asleep I don't care," she huffed and sat down on the other side of me.

 **Aomine's POV:**

When I woke up it was dark outside and Kei was standing at the window with a weird look on his face, "What's up with you?" I grunted.

He smiled, "It's starting to get dark earlier, fall's coming around."

"Kamiko, where are you going?" I heard Kei ask a small figure that had made a beeline for the door.

"The child woke up from his nap and I hate children," Kamiko said apathetically.

I rested my chin on my hand. Man, she really pisses me the hell off. "Do you get paid for being this much of a bitch, because you're real good at it," I said smugly.

I heard Kei say my name in a motherly tone and saw Kamiko glare at me before she turned back to Kei saying, "I suggest you go soon as well, you'll be late if you don't."

Kei looked up in thought for a moment before grinning widely, "That's right! Thank you Kamiko," he swooned after her as she left.

"Did you ever think about dropping her? Everything she's good for can easily be done by a phone, and a phone wouldn't have an attitude like that," I said.

Kei smiled, "I don't know why you two can't seem to get along, but in answer to your question; scatterbrained people are often too busy being scatterbrained to remember to put things in their phone in the first place."

"Tch, she always starts it," I said leaning back in the chair I was sitting in.

"Well, you certainly feel the need to finish it," Kei said standing up.

"Hmph," I grunted.

"Come on," he sighed and then chuckled, "My day isn't over."

"Are you going to work next?" I asked as I followed him out of the school.

"No, I only work three days a week and the other three I have cram school. Sundays are my days off," he said.

"So another couple of hours being bored to death? Do you really need that?" I asked him.

He chuckled, "I may be your tutor, but I'm still just an average middle of the road student remember? I need all the academic help I can get, some of us aren't basketball geniuses who could get into any college they wanted to with pure talent."

I flushed at his compliment and looked away, "Whatever, at least I could get a few more hours of sleep."

Kei stopped walking and looked at me concernedly, "You slept too much today, are you sick?" he asked.

"Tch, I don't get sick," I replied.

"That's not possible," Kei said pressing his forehead against mine.

My heart started pounding in my chest as forest green eyes looked into mine when our skin made contact. I shivered when Kei pulled away, the frame of his glasses brushing softly against my cheek. "You don't have a fever," I heard Kei say through the ringing in my ears.

I nodded and continued to follow him down the street. _Back there, I really wanted to kiss him. Wait, no. What the hell._

I could barely look at him after thinking that. We got to Kei's cram school and I tried to sleep, but I was too keyed up. Shit. Why did I have to think that? It's not like that was a weird thing to do, he was just checking if I had a fever. I just couldn't help it, it was the first thing that popped into my mind. I couldn't actually be attracted to him, could I? I mean Kei had really pretty skin, eyes, and hair, but no one could ever call him feminine. He's six feet for fucks sake. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's not fair.

I definitely couldn't look Kei in the eye now, all I could do was follow him in silence and nod occasionally as he blabbered on about who knows what. "So, what do you want to eat?" Kei asked.

"Huh?" I asked back.

He smiled, "We haven't eaten since lunch. I just went to the store yesterday so I can make you anything you want."

I'd made Kei's lips off limits for my eyes and it was beginning to change the way I saw him. Every time I used to look at him it was always his mouth, whenever he smiled, whenever he laughed, whenever he pouted. But he looked completely different now. Maybe I never noticed it because it was kinda hard to see with his glasses in the way, but Kei looked exhausted. It's not surprising, with his schedule; he goes to school, has club activities till evening, goes to cram school or work, tutors me and offers to make me food. It's too much. "Um, I think I'll pass. You look like you need a whole lot of sleep," I responded.

"Really? I thought you wanted to stay since you followed me all the way up to the elevator," he said.

I looked around me, "Oh."

He laughed, "Did you really not notice? Are you sure you're okay, you seem spaced out," he asked moving closer to me.

I looked down and shifted my feet, "I'm fine, I think I'll just go home though."

"Oh, okay," he said as the elevator came to a stop.

"Kamiko? What are you doing here?" Kei asked when the doors opened.

"You forgot your textbook, I noticed in the student council room when I went back after I'd forgotten something myself," she said.

He grinned, "Thanks Kamiko, you're a lifesaver! Wait, have you been waiting out here long? You should've texted me."

"I didn't want to distract you, plus, your neighbor was kind as always. We sat and had some tea while I waited," she answered.

"I see," Kei said.

"See you tomorrow," she said stepping into the elevator.

"Bye, and bye Aomine," Kei said waving at us.

I scowled at her and she glared at me as the doors closed, "You know," she said, "You really need to stop."

"Excuse me?" I asked condescendingly.

"You're really causing Kei a lot of stress, stunts like this completely wipe him out," she said.

"Nothing I did today changed anything about what he did," I said narrowing my eyes at her.

She sighed, "I really can't believe someone could be this dense. Sure, Kei can do everything he needs to even with you around, but the point is that you're stressing him out. He has to worry about your grades, your mood, your feelings, whether you show up to practice or not. It shouldn't be his problem."

The elevator reached the ground floor and she stepped away saying, "Grow up, take some responsibility for yourself, and leave him alone."

My walk home would've been a hell of a lot easier if what she'd said was wrong.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

The past week had been odd to say the least, a little bit of an empty feeling plagued me. Thinking back, it had all started when Aomine had been acting strangely the night I last saw him. He was super quiet and I thought he was just sick of following me around, he didn't even want to stay to eat something. I haven't seen him at all since that night, he hasn't shown up to any of our tutoring sessions this whole week. I had learned my lesson about trying to control him, but this was starting to get to me. I wanted to know what was going on with him. "Kei," I heard a voice say next to me.

"Yes, Kamiko?" I said cheerfully.

"I need to leave to help set up the show for the art club," she said.

"That's fine, you can go. I have everything covered here," I said waving her away.

As she left I saw Katsunori-sensei pop his head in the doorway and I felt myself tense, "Kei," he said.

"Yes?" I asked nervously.

He smiled, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you?" I asked confused.

He chuckled, "I don't know what you did but I knew you'd eventually be able to get Aomine to come to practice."

"I see, no problem," I said with a smile and he left.

So Aomine was finally going to practice? Maybe that's why he hadn't shown up to any of our tutoring appointments. But he should've at least let me know.

While I had more important things to do, I found myself hanging around the gym in the sneakiest way I could manage. Spotting Momoi, I pulled her aside, "Hi Kei, it feels like it's been forever," she said giving me a big bear hug.

I laughed and hugged her back, "So what brings you to the gym."

"Well," I laughed and started fidgeting, "I wanted to ask you how Aomine's doing."

She gave me a quizzical look, "Why?"

"Um, well, he hasn't shown up for tutoring this week," I said.

"I should have known," she said tiredly, "If it's not one thing it's another. He starts coming to practice but ditches you. Don't worry, I'll take care of him," she finished angrily.

"No," I said hurriedly, "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Okay," she sighed.

I retreated back to the student council room and continued on with my club activities for the next couple of hours, but my mind never wandered from the issue with Aomine for too long. What's happening with him? Why is he doing this all of a sudden? This isn't fair, I actually miss him a lot, you never know how valuable a grumpy ball of sarcasm is until he's gone.

As I finished up the last of my paperwork, I heard the door open and the huff of labored breathing. "Aomine," I said in shock when I looked up.

I really hoped Momoi hadn't said anything to him, I don't need another instance of me crying like a toddler. Although I don't know if I could bring myself to cry right now if I tried, I was completely distracted by how Aomine looked. Sure, I'd seen him play basketball before and I had even seen him without a shirt, but I'd never seen him actually break a sweat. Even if he was yelling at me, I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on anything but the way his entire body was glistening with sweat and how his damp dark blue shirt clung to his waist. I subconsciously licked my lips as I imagined what it would taste like if I ran my tongue along his neck and lapped up the beads of sweat that had accumulated there.

No. Nope. Bad. Horrible. Bad. Horrible. You are sitting here like a perverted bundle of hormones while your underclassman is obviously going through something deep. Kei. Push your feelings away. Shove them deep inside. They don't exist.

While I was mentally scolding myself, Aomine had caught his breath, "You don't need to bother with me anymore," he said.

"What?" I asked him.

"I'm going to practice and I'll do enough schoolwork to pass, you don't need to do anything anymore," he said.

"Aomine, is there something I did to make you uncomfortable because if I did I'm sor-" I started to say.

"No," he cut me off and scratched the back of his head, "I just don't want to cause you any stress."

"What?" I said almost laughing, "You don't cause me any stress."

"You don't have to lie," he grumbled.

"I'm not lying," I said grinning, "Why would you think that?"

"No reason," he scowled, "But you can't say that tutoring me and all the other shit isn't a distraction to you."

"No, I like doing it," I said.

"Tch, and why the hell is that?" he growled.

"Because I like being around you and consider you a friend. I don't mind doing any of this at all," I insisted.

"Man, really?" he sighed.

"Yep," I said happily, "The only thing that's been worrying me is that you've been avoiding me so do you think you could stop?"

"Yeah, sorry" he mumbled and continued, "While I'm apologizing, I'm sorry for making you cry and about what happened with that manga author," he said looking at the ground.

I blushed in embarrassment at the mention of me crying, but shot him a confused look, "What happened with the manga author?" I asked.

"You know how I was really rude to him and shit," he said in a low voice.

"Oh that," I said smiling, "Don't get it wrong Aomine, I was so relieved you were there. I love sensei's work, but he was making me really uncomfortable. I probably would've been scared if you weren't there."

"That's bullshit. That dick was short as hell," Aomine scoffed.

"But I'm weak," I protested, "A child could knock me over with one push."

Aomine smiled softly, "That's true."

I smiled back, "So, tutoring tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he nodded and then grabbed at his shirt and pointed at the door, "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Sure thing," I replied.

 _I wish I could go with you._

I stood up and sighed angrily. I need to get this taken care of, my poor innocent underclassman doesn't deserve these types of thoughts being had about him.

* * *

Hey there! I want to thank all the people who take the time to read/favorite/follow this and especially the people nice enough to leave reviews. To **Keelan1210** , yes, it shall be known that places are characterized by smell as well as how strong people are according to Aomine and Kagami. Those basketball idiots just have the world figured out, don't they? To **farronewp** , I hope you got a nice little "taste" (sorry for the pun) of Kei's dirty thoughts, alas the actions will have to wait a lil bit longer but not an eternity, so I'll try and update as quick as I can. To **Bob,** thank you and I'll try to update quickly. To **Guest** , I'm glad you liked the warming up between Aomine and Kei, but Kei is a dense child so I wouldn't count on him realizing anything anytime soon. Thankfully Aomine is not an oblivious character nor one to wait around. To **Guest,** thank you and I completely forgot to add descriptors to Kei's mangaka, I fixed that in this chapter so thanks for pointing it out. To **S. Rune** , I'm so glad you like Kei and the fact he was bi, I've only come across one other fanfic with a bi OC so I felt there was a need. Kimura isn't the ex-boyfriend but he'll be revealed shortly and I'm happy you like Kagami and Kei's neighborship. Thank you for the comment about Aominecchi, I like to think of that as one of my greatest moments in writing, it was like I had an epiphany when I realized the -ecchi at the end. In regards to Kei's sensei, he's a lot older so I don't know how that'd work out. While Kei has issues with his past and family that will eventually come to light, the line you mentioned is something different entirely and will be lighter than the familial stuff. To **Guest,** thank you, I'm glad you love it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Kei's POV:**

For as long as I can remember, I've always been a helper of some sort. I was a teacher's aide in elementary school and student council president in both middle school and high school. I really loved the way it made me feel like I was useful and that people needed me and wanted me around. My first year in middle school I skipped over being elected as a class representative and went right into being chosen as student council president. Some of the second and third year student council members were irritated by that, but once they realized I was a pushover they were fine with it.

The first two years of middle school went by smoothly, but I was incredibly shy. I wouldn't even talk to another human being unless I was offering to help them in some way. That all changed on the first day of my third year and looking back, I can't help but see how similar meeting Aomine was to meeting him.

As soon as I entered the classroom I made a beeline for the middle seat in the front row; right in front of the teacher. That's where I felt the safest, I didn't have to look anywhere but forward and the people choosing the seats next to me were probably not going to be the types of people to pick on me. Not that anyone ever did, it was sort of an irrational fear back then. No one ever bothered me or bothered with me unless they wanted something but I was still afraid all the time of people not liking me. That hasn't changed much I guess.

The class began and continued normally for at the most ten minutes before I heard a couple giggles erupt from the bag of the class. "Hey, cut it out!" I flinched as sensei yelled at the back.

Five minutes of silence passed before I heard another bout of laughter reverberate from the back. I saw everyone's head turn around me but refrained from looking myself. Sensei slammed the piece of chalk he was writing with down on the desk and narrowed his eyes, "You," he said pointing to someone I couldn't see, "Switch seats with her," he said pointing to the girl next to me and then grunting, "I see you're obviously going to be a problem."

I grew tense as the girls sighed and started gathering up her stuff, the thought of a troublemaker sitting next to me was enough to make me cringe. I tried my best to keep my eyes focused on the board, but my curiosity got the better of me and I turned my head to the left as the person sensei had pointed at sat down in the seat. To my surprise, he was a pretty friendly looking guy with black hair and pale blue eyes. Our eyes met and he smiled and waved at me, to which I could only seem to respond to with a small nod and then turned my head forward.

The rest of class was uneventful except for the end. During lunch I was extremely uncomfortable, mainly because the boy next to me had a whole crowd surrounding him and I wasn't used to this many people in my vicinity. None of them were trying to talk to me, which was good. I remember thinking how cool and funny he was; he kept making everyone laugh, but I kept mine inside because I wasn't really a part of their conversation and I didn't want to make them think I was weird and listening in. At the end of class, the first sensei we had came back and had a quiet talk with our current one; I think I was the only one to notice. After that they came over to us, "I heard you caused quite a disruption this morning," one said.

The boy smiled and put his hands in the air, "Sorry, my bad."  
They scowled and one said, "It's only the first day so normally we'd be more lenient, but we both feel like this merits some type of punishment. You'll be responsible for cleaning the classroom after school ends for the whole week."

The boy's face wasn't smiling for the first time all day, "I can't! I have basketball club after this, I need to be there at least today!" he protested.

"You should've thought about that before distracting the class repeatedly," sensei said and walked away.

"Man this sucks!" the guy said exasperated, "Coach is gonna kill me! That's if he doesn't suspend me or cut me off the team," he groaned.

"Um, if it would help, I can do it for you," I said timidly.

They boy looked at me confused for a second before a huge smile broke out on his face, "Really?" he said excitedly.

I nodded, "You must be some kind of angel from above," he said throwing his stuff into his bag at a rapid rate.

A guy walking by laughed saying, "He's our student council president, you want anything ask him."

They boy looked at me surprised, "Really? Man, thanks a lot, you're really saving my ass," he said running out of the classroom.

"You're welcome," I said quietly to myself and walked over to the cabinet where the cleaning supplies were kept.

I did the same thing the next day when I saw him run out after class ended like he'd done the day before. I wasn't expecting him to come back, "What are you doing?" he asked me after he came in five minutes later.

I was in the middle of cleaning the chalkboard so I put down the sponge and said, "I thought you had your club activity to go to so I started cleaning…" I answered.

"You don't have to do that, I just had to be there for the first day," he said and then laughed, "What'd you think? I was gonna make you do all the work the entire week?"

I looked at him blankly, "Yes."

He gave me a look of disbelief and shock, "What? You're really somethin," he said with a whistle and then taking his school blazer off and grabbing the sponge said, "I'm not someone who'd do that."

He turned to me and gave me a toothy grin. "It'll get done quicker if there are two of us so I'll stay and help," I said grabbing another sponge.

"You don't have to do that," he pouted.

"It's fine," I insisted.

"If you say so," he sighed.

We scrubbed side by side in silence before he started humming, "hm, hm, hm, hm, hmhmhm, an instinctive situation...hmmhm..reason to fight..hm..imitation, say prez do you know that song?" he asked me.

I shook my head no and he gave me a horrified look, "That's my favorite song from my favorite band. They're a rock band and their lead singer is amazing," he exclaimed.

I nodded at him and went back to scrubbing, "I really like that anime," he said suddenly.

"What?" I asked him confused.

"The keychain on your cell phone, I like the anime it's from," he laughed, "I liked it so much I actually bought the manga to read."

"Oh," I said before glancing at my bag and wondering how the hell he was able to see that.

Because I knew it was there, I could easily spot the tiny black and white charm jutting out ever so slightly where my cellphone was in my bag, but from where we were standing it was nearly impossible to see it, let alone make out what it was. Maybe he'd seen it the day before? That must be it. "I've looked everywhere but I just can't seem to find the fifth volume," he said.

"I know a shop that has it in stock," I said.

"Sweet, you wanna go there after this?" he asked and added, "Maybe you can come over to my house and I can show you that band I like?"

I almost dropped the sponge I was pressing against the chalkboard. No one had ever invited me to go do something after school let alone over to their house. I recollected myself and smiled, "That'd be nice."

"Whoa, you have a huge smile dude. It's bigger than mine, I couldn't get it that way if I pulled it with my fingers," he said and laughed, "I'm gonna have to do some jaw exercises just to keep in competition with you."

I laughed with him, "So prez, you have a name?" he asked me.

"Sakamoto Kei," I replied.

"Well Kei-chan I'm Takao Kazunari, it's nice to meet cha," he said smiling.

Takao's house is nice and so is his family, I'm currently splayed out on the couch playing video games being horribly beaten by him. I haven't been here in a few months, which is probably why I'm reminiscing so much about how we met, I normally don't like to remember it because I'm forced to remember that it took me fifteen years on this planet to make one friend. I am also forced to recall I was so antisocial and out of it that it took me and everyone else almost a week to realize that there was a mix up in the scheduling and I was in a second year class instead of a third year one. My absentmindedness knows no bounds. "Kei-chan you suck," he laughed.

I put down the controller, "My heart's just not in it tonight," I said dramatically and we laughed.

"Kazu?" I said.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm a horrible friend," I said.

"What?" he laughed, "That's like saying you have three eyes."

"I haven't spoken to you much over the past five months. You're my only friend and I've neglected you," I said solemnly.

"There, there Kei-chan," he said patting my head, "I know you're super busy. The only bad thing you're doing is making me worry about you, you're overworked."

"There's never too much work," I said.

"Kei-chan you never change," Takao laughed.

"So how's your school year been so far?" I asked.

"Well," he looked down, "Remember that guy I totally hated in middle school; the one that completely obliterated our team last year?"

"Yeah," I said.

"He's going to my school," he said.

"No way, that's so weird," I said dumbfounded, "Is it awkward between you two?"

"He didn't even remember me," Takao whined loudly, "I wasn't even that significant."

"I'm a horrible friend," I moaned, "You're having a crisis your freshman year of high school and I haven't been here for you."

"It isn't a crisis Kei-chan," he laughed, "I just have to work with him, not against him, which is harder than it seems cause the guy's a total tsundere."

I laughed, "Are you torturing him Kazu?"

"Maybe," he said with a sly smile, "But I have to do something to get his attention. I refuse to let this year go by without him recognizing me as a basketball player."

"Work hard and you'll be great," I said.

"Work hard huh? You know it'd be a lot easier to hate Shin-chan if he was a standoffish as he acts, but even though he's an absolute prodigy he still comes to every practice and stays for hours afterward," Takao said intertwining his hands behind his head.

"That must be nice," I sighed, "I wish the basketball player I was tutoring had that kind of

drive."

"You're tutoring a basketball player?" he asked.

I nodded, "Isn't that hard for you? Doesn't that mean you have to be around _him_?"

"No," I shook my head, "We study at my place, and he's an ex-boyfriend, it's not like he's carrying the plague."

"Who are you tutoring?" he asked.

"Aomine Daiki, do you know about him?" I said.

Takao laughed, "Know about him? Of course, he's the arguably the best basketball player in the generation of miracles, I hear he's a total primadonna though."

"I wouldn't say that, he does show up for tutoring and almost half the practices now," I said.

"Half the practices. Sheesh," Takao said clucking his tongue before a wicked smile graced his face and he turned to me, "You know other than being the ace and a princess, he's probably the most good looking out of the generation of miracles. The only one who could upstage him is that ultra popular model, so tell me, is there anything else going on besides the tutoring?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"No," I said blushing.

"No late night sessions? No unusual ways of studying? What happens if he gives a wrong answer? What type of punishment does he receive from his senpai?" Takao asked suggestively.

"None of that!" I said shutting my eyes in embarrassment.

Takao busted out laughing, "Poor Kei-chan, nothing may have happened but by the look on your face you want it to!"

"I can't help it," I started to whine, "Why does he have to have muscles like that? Why does his skin have to be like that? Or his hair, and his eyes, and he's aggressive. It's too much for a guy to take," I sighed.

Takao chuckled before we heard the front door open and close, "I'm home," a feminine voice said.

Takao stood up, "Welcome back my darling little sister, give onii-chan a hug and a kiss-"

"Ugh, gross," the fourteen year old said as she dodged her older brother, "Kei," she said hugging me, "You haven't been here for so long."

"Sorry, I've been busy," I said ruffling her hair.

"Go away, Kei-chan and I are talking about something important," Takao said.

"What?" she asked.

Takao's lips curled into a cheshire grin, "We're talking about Kei's next boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? I think you should get a girlfriend," she said hugging me tighter, "You had a girlfriend in middle school, a boyfriend last year, it's time for another girl."

"That's not really how it works," I said.

"Out, you're bugging us," Takao said.

"Hmph," she breathed as she stomped away.

Takao pouted and sat back down, "She could care less about onii-chan but she cares about onii-chan's friends a little too much."

"Well, she's at that age," I said.

"I don't like it one bit," he scowled.

"There's nothing you can do about it," I laughed.

"Back to what we were talking about before," he said, "You're gonna have to do something to relieve that sexual frustration quick before you go insane."

"I know," I said glumly.

* * *

The next day I went to the gym after I was done with my student council duties. Finding the court empty I headed towards the locker room where I knew he'd be, he always stayed late to practice. I opened the door, "Hi," I said.

"Hey, haven't seen you around lately," he said turning to me.

"I've been swamped," I said.

"With Aomine?" he asked hostilely.

"He's part of it," I said.

"I hope he's not giving you any trouble," he growled.

"No, not really," I said walking over to him.

He grabbed me by the waist and whispered in my ear, "That guy really pisses me off."

I ran my hands up his chest, "Give him some time, he's just a freshman. I was one last year."

He bit the shell of my ear gently, "You were an adorable freshman."

I ran my hands back down his torso and wrapped them around his waist, "Yeah, but we wouldn't have even met if I wasn't such an airheaded freshman, do you remember?"

He chuckled and kissed my neck, "You were lost, running around campus and you crashed into me."

I caught his lips before he moved onto the other side of my neck, "You started yelling at me," I said.

"And you started crying," he said undoing my tie and the first two buttons of my shirt.

I ran my fingers through his hair as he sucked on my clavicle, "You tried to get me to stop, and offered to buy me a dinner," I said.

"A dinner you blushed your entire way through," he said giving me a sloppy kiss on the mouth.

"You asked for my number and another date," I said breathlessly.

"Don't forget about the kiss," he said running his hand down the back of my thigh, manually hooking my leg around him, and grinding harshly into me.

"Kousuke," I whimpered and clutched his shirt.

"I remember what you like," he said kissing me again.

Kousuke wouldn't let my lips go as he began unbuttoning my shirt completely, running his fingertips across my bare abdomen. "Oi, why was the door-" and all too familiar voice said opening the door.

I froze and felt Kousuke stiffen before he removed himself quickly from my face and let me go. I caught a glimpse of Aomine's shocked expression but he immediately slammed the door back shut. "Fuck," I heard Kousuke say.

I saw him move towards the door, "What are you going to do?" I asked him.

"Beat the shit out of him and make sure he doesn't talk," he growled.

I held back the reminder that the last time they got into a physical fight Aomine almost caused internal bleeding because Kousuke looked angry enough as it is, "I'll handle it. Without violence," I said touching his shoulder.

"Whatever," he grumbled.

I buttoned up my shirt and redid my tie before walking out of the locker room. Luckily Aomine hadn't stormed off, I could hear him aggressively shooting in the gym. I approached him carefully, "Aomine?" I said softly.

"It was him wasn't it? Wakamatsu's that guy you dated last year?" he asked.

"Yeah, look-" I started to say.

"I don't give a shit about your boyfriend," he said dribbling a basketball with more force than necessary.

"He's my ex boyfriend," I felt the need to clarify.

"That didn't look so ex to me," Aomine scoffed.

"Things don't always mean the same things they used to," I said.

"Whatever," Aomine grumbled and grabbed his bag, "I won't tell, but I find it hypocritical the fuckin moral compass of everyone is getting it on with his ex boyfriend in the gym locker room," he said before storming out.

"Well this is a mess," I sighed frustratedly and walked back to the locker room, but Kousuke was gone; not a surprise, it would've been too much for him to stay.

A half an hour spent on the steps of school sulking later, I was joined by someone else. "Why such a sad disposition on our cheery student president?"

"Imayoshi," I greeted him halfheartedly as he sat down next to me.

"Whatever could be so wrong it got ya in such a mood?" he said smiling.

"Imayoshi, answer me honestly. Do you think I'm a slut?" I asked.

Imayoshi chuckled, "That's a word I'd never thought'd come out of your mouth, and to answer your question, no."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He laughed harder, "You've slept with one person in your life, and it was someone who you loved and were in a long term relationship with. What brought this on?"

"Kousuke and I were having a moment in the locker room and Aomine walked in and was upset," I said,

"Ah," Imayoshi said.

"He basically called me a hypocrite whore," I said.

Imayoshi smiled, "Well he isn't one to be talkin."

"But was he right?" I asked.

"I can't say sleeping with Wakamatsu's good for you, but it's certainly not slutty behavior," Imayoshi said, "I think the issue lies with why Aomine was so upset."

"He and Kousuke hate each other, that's why," I said.

Imayoshi smiled at me, "Mmm, well I'll leave you to it," he said standing up.

"To what?" I said to myself after he left.

* * *

The next time I tutored Aomine it was awkward, at least on my end. Aomine just went ahead and acted like nothing ever happened, although he didn't want to stick around my place any longer than necessary. I didn't seem him the next day and the day after that was unusual because it was our last tutoring session of the year due to the close proximity of the Winter Cup. It also happened to be Aomine's birthday so I didn't have any studying planned, I just told him to meet me at the cafe so I could give him a present and treat him to dinner.

Aomine hadn't shown by the time the cafe closed and it was raining pretty hard, but I waited for him anyway. An hour, an overturned umbrella, cold food, and a typhoon weather warning on my phone later, I accepted the fact he wasn't coming. I quickly made my way to his house so I could at least drop off what I got him, but no one was home. No cars were parked in the driveway. Maybe there was an emergency or something?

I jogged over to the house on the right of Aomine's, which I'd previously learned was Momoi's, and knocked on the door. The pink haired girl was the one to open it, "Kei! What are you doing!? You're soaking wet!" she yelled.

I gave her the bag, "I don't know a whole lot about what he likes and doesn't, but he pointed these out in a magazine a couple weeks ago."

"Kei, these are expensive," Momoi said.

I shook my head, "My parents give me more than enough to live on, I work for fun. It was actually nice to spend the money I make. Plus, it's not only his sixteenth birthday but he made it halfway through the school year with good grades."

"Come inside," Momoi said.

I shook my head again, "I should get home."

"It's dangerous out there," she said.

"I'll be fine," I said smiling and left quickly.

I got home safely and without incident, but I was soaked through and through. As I got to my apartment I'd almost expected Aomine to be waiting for me, maybe having completely forgotten that he was supposed to meet me at the cafe. But he wasn't. I wondered what happened to him? He could've called. Well in his defense, he wouldn't guess your idiot self would stand in the rain and wind for an hour. _I should really get into a hot bath before I catch a cold._

* * *

Hey there, sorry this chapter is a bit short, but it's told from strictly Kei's point of view and next chapter you'll get to see Aomine's. I want to thank the people who read/favorite/follow this fic, and a special thank you to the people who take the time out to leave reviews. To **Guest** , thank you, I'm glad you liked it. To **Keelan1210** , well the ex boyfriend's been revealed, he definitely causes drama later in the story so keep a look out for him in the future. To **Bob,** thank you, I'm glad you liked the fluffiness of the last chapter. To **SawamuraEijun** , the ex boyfriend's no longer a mystery so I hoped you enjoyed his reveal, and he'll be a little more involved in the fic from now on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Aomine's POV:**

I wish I just left the door alone. I'd forgotten one of my idol magazines in my locker so I went back to the gym to go get it, but the locker room door was locked. I should've left, but I grabbed a pair of scissors from coach's office and picked the lock. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw Wakamatsu and Kei dry humping each other against the lockers. I should've left then, but I didn't.

" _Things don't always mean the same things they used to."_

So it was just sex then? But why Wakamatsu of all people? Who gives a shit if he's your ex, out of everyone you know you couldn't think of someone better to get your rocks off with?

 _Why didn't you think of me?_

 _Because I've never touched a man for sexual purposes in my life and he knows it._

Fuck. Why am I even thinking this?

 _You know why._

Dammit, it was useless to even try to ignore it now. I can't deny it, because if I felt like he was just another friend I wouldn't want to screw him. I was jealous of Wakamatsu and angry at Kei for putting me in the position of being envious of someone like that bastard. I wanted Kei to wrap himself around me like that, I wanted him to make those cute sounds when I touched him, I wanted to taste him. I don't want to wonder what being with Kei feels like, I want to know.

It's weird for me because I've never felt this way about a guy before, but it's not like I have any choice but to admit to myself that I'm attracted to him. It doesn't change anything, I'm still me and Kei already made it very clear he wouldn't want to be with someone like me.

I tried to act as normal as possible, but I couldn't stand to be around Kei unless I had to. It wasn't his fault, and I hated seeing his slightly hurt expression when I declined to stay for dinner after tutoring. I don't want him to be sad and I don't want to act like an ass, but it's hard to be near him when I really want him to be underneath me. And it's not like I could do anything about it, if I tried to make a move on him he'd reject me and because he's probably the nicest person I've ever met, he'd say something like he was flattered and just brush it off like nothing happened. But it'd still be awkward beyond repair, it'd ruin our friendship completely.

I should've left the door unlocked and went home. I should've stayed for dinner. I shouldn't have gone to the arcade with a group of guys instead of going to my last tutoring appointment. I felt a little knot of guilt during the evening, but I pushed it down. It was my birthday, why would I want to spend the night studying?

It's amazing how easy it is to rationalize your guilt away, I didn't even start to feel bad until the next day and that was all thanks to Satsuki. I was trying to take a nap on the roof when I heard her come up the ladder, a little bit slower than usual. I took it as a sign Kei told her I blew him off and she was coming up here to chew me out. I pretended to be asleep as she finished climbing, "Aomine-kun," she said in a monotone voice.

Shit, she was pissed. I continued my sleeping act in hopes that she'd give up and leave, but she kicked me in the side harshly saying, "Wake up."

"Ow, Satsuki what the hell?" I growled as I sat up.

She said nothing in response, just dropped a box on the ground in front of me. I immediately recognized the logo on the box and grew excited as I opened them, "Oi, thanks Satsuki, I knew there had to be something more than that horrible tasting cake you baked for me-"

"It's not from me," she said angrily, "It's from Kei."

"Kei?" I muttered as she glared at me.

"I'm sure he's sorry the box has some water stains on it, but that's because he was waiting for over an hour in the rain for you to show up," she spat.

"What?" I muttered faintly.

"But don't feel bad," she said sarcastically, "I'm sure that has nothing to do with Kei not being at school today because he's at home sick with a horrible fever," she huffed before shaking her head and stomping off the roof.

"Why? What?" I said to myself before the realization that I'm a complete dick hit me, "Fuck!" I yelled, grabbing the box and sliding down the roof.

On my way out of the school I came across the bitchy vice prez fending off a crowd of students, "I really can't do anything for you right now, I have to deliver Kei's work for his classes," I heard her say.

I eyed the stack of papers in her hand before sauntering up to her and stretched out my hand saying, "I'll take those to him, I'm on my way there anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at me before sighing, handing me the papers and letting herself be swallowed up by the mass of people. Huh, no snippy comment? Kei must've not told her that it was my fault that he was sick.

I made my way to Kei's apartment as fast I could, I ran so I didn't have to think about how royally I fucked up. When I got the Kei's floor, I was surprised to see the back of a familiar red head obstructing my view of Kei's door. He knocked on Kei's door. So what, were they friends now? How many more surprises am I gonna get from Kei this week?

 _What if they're something more?_

I shook the thought from my head, there was only one way to find out. He was here, might as well ask him why. "What the hell are you doing here?" I said in a lower voice than I meant to.

He swiveled his head around quickly, "Aomine?" he said in a surprised tone and then glared at me.

I glared back, "You didn't answer me, Kagami," I said mockingly.

"I live here," he shot back, "Next door," he said nodding over to the door left of Kei's apartment.

So this was the neighbor Kei was always talking about, it made me like him even less. Although it makes sense that such an annoying player was just as much an annoying neighbor. "What are you doing here?" he asked me.

I held up the stack of papers, "You do remember we go to the same school, or is it just your light that's dim?"

"Ass," he grumbled before turning back to the door and knocking loudly, "Kei, open the door, I made you some soup."

I shot death glares at the back of Kagami's head. Who the hell does he think he is making Kei soup? His boyfriend? I didn't get a definitive answer on that so it could actually be true, but Kei never mentioned having a relationship with his neighbor.

 _He didn't mention having a relationship with Wakamatsu either._

"Just come in," we heard a tired voice say from the other side.

Kagami opened Kei's door and I followed behind him. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell, looking around Kei's windows were all closed for the first time since I had been coming over. Kei's place smelled like him, a weird mixture of vanilla and mango mixed with the smell of a blanket you've had a long time, the one no matter how many times you washed it, it still held the same comforting scent. It smelled like him, it smelled good.

Kagami went to the kitchen with the container of soup he'd been carrying. I watched him as he got a bowl and a spoon effortlessly like he knew where everything was. Does he come over that often? "Aomine?" I heard a hoarse voice ask.

I looked at Kei, who was spread out on the couch with every blanket known to man on top of him. "What are you doing here?" he asked smiling.

 _Don't smile at me, I'm an asshole._

"Tch, the vice president was busy so I'm dropping off your work," I said and glared at Kagami as he came over with the soup.

"Oh, thank you," he said to me in a weak voice.

"No problem," I said nonchalantly.

"Here," Kagami said setting the soup on the coffee table.

"Thanks Taiga, you're the sweetest ever," Kei said deliriously as he sat up and started to sip the soup slowly.

"Your fever's gotten worse," Kagami said pressing his head against Kei's.

My eyebrow twitched in irritation, so they were on a first name basis? "You know you should focus less on taking care of student presidents from other schools and more on basketball, you're gonna need all the practice you can get for the Winter Cup, not that it's gonna make a difference," I said smirking.

Kagami scowled at me and got up, but I didn't care. I needed him to leave so I could apologize to Kei. "You know you're really pissing me off."

"You say that almost like I give a damn," I said still smirking.

"Come on boys, get along," Kei said halfheartedly as he as he finished his soup.

I could tell Kagami was about to start shouting or maybe trying to punch me, but his cell started beeping. He looked down and grimaced before turning to Kei, "I have to go to practice, are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Kei said smiling.

"Glad you're taking my advice," I said smugly as he left.

Kagami just shook his head angrily and left. I walked over to Kei and set his work down on the table, "Thanks again," he said cheerily.

Man, he was upbeat even when he was sick. I couldn't even bear to look at or talk to him, this was all my fault. "Did you like your present? That was the only thing I remembered you saying that you wanted, I hope I got the right thing…" he trailed off when I didn't jump into the conversation.

I was shaking, and I had to clench my fists to keep my eyes from watering. Damn, I'd been an asshole to a lot of people but nothing's ever affected me like this. "Aomine?" Kei asked tentatively.

I gently took his arm and pulled him up from the couch and into a hug. I tried to make the hug as manly as possible, but I couldn't help myself and ended up enveloping him in my arms. "I'm sorry Kei, that was a shitty thing to do," I said into the crook of his neck.

He returned my hug, "It's okay, I know you were upset. But you should stop hugging me, I don't want you to get sick," he said letting go.

"Yeah," I said letting go as well and looking away from him.

My face felt hot and when I looked at Kei I could see his face was red, I know it's from the fever but I can't help the nagging feeling inside of me that wants him to be flushed every time I touch him. I stepped forward and pressed our foreheads together, "You're fever really is bad," I said, confirming Kagami's earlier observation.

"Yeah I know, I haven't been able to break it. I've tried everything; ice, cold fluids, warm fluids, food, medicine, nothing works," he sighed.

I looked at the couch, "Have you tried getting some sleep, why are you on the couch?" I asked him.

"I was too tired to keep making the trip from my bedroom to the kitchen," he explained.

"That's the problem, you need to go to sleep," I said.

"No, I'm fine on the couch," he insisted.

"I don't remember giving you an option," I said hooking my arm under his knees and picking him up.

"A-aomine, what are you doing?" Kei asked with a completely red face.

I smirked in satisfaction when he blushed, "Putting you to bed," I said as we approached the door.

"No," Kei said holding the door shut.

"What? You're not hiding a dead body in there are you?" I joked.

He just looked at me, "Maybe," he said in a small voice.

"Knock it off Kei," I said, forcing my way in.

"No, Aomine, hold on!" he protested as I walked in.

I had to drop him on his bed because I was so in shock, "Oh. My. God," I said.

"I didn't want you to find out," he whined.

I sat down on the bed, "Oh my god," I repeated.

"I'm sorry," he said sitting next to me.

"I had no idea," I said flabbergasted.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this," he said.

"You don't work at a host club," I said in realization.

"No," he replied.

"And you didn't go to the anime convention _just_ for that mangaka," I added.

He shook his head as I looked around his room, there were anime posters and wall scrolls covering the walls from ceiling to floor, the empty spaces were where bookcases stuffed with manga sat, and there was an unimaginable amount of pillows, figurines, keychains, and plushies. "I work at a cosplay cafe, I just made sure you came by on the days we wear school uniforms so you wouldn't feel weird," he explained.

I nodded, "And I made sure to make a trip home before we met up at the convention so you wouldn't see any of the stuff I bought," he said.

"I have a little bit of a problem," he said.

I sighed and looked at him, "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed."

"I understand," he said sullenly.

"Now, get into bed," I said pulling the blanket off.

I turned to him, "Really Kei? Did you need the porn sheet?"

"It's not a porn sheet," he said in a defensive tone, "It's called a goodnight sheet and it makes me feel secure."

"Do the four body pillows make you feel secure?" I mocked.

"Yes, they do. And they also provide great back support," he said laying on top of them.

"I'm going to get you a cold compress, just go the fuck to sleep," I said gruffly.

I walked into the kitchen and managed to find a washcloth. I ran it under cold water and wondered why the man I loved just had to be a freakin otaku. My eyes widened and I wrung out the soaked cloth with more force than necessary. Love? Did my mind just say love? That's not possible, I can't love Kei...can I? No, I'm just attracted to him right?

I sighed in frustration where Kei had already fallen asleep. I placed the damp washcloth on his forehead neatly and despite every fiber of my being telling me not to; I carefully climbed onto the bed so I was hovering about him, my hands on either side of his head holding me up.

I lowered my face down to his causing our noses to touch and my own forehead to press against the damp fabric on his. I rubbed my nose against his affectionately; his skin was soft and he smelled good. I exhaled in satisfaction before burying the left side of my head in the crook of his neck, his hair tickled my cheek and the smell of mango wafted into my nose. As I breathed in deeply, I saw Kei's right hand face up on the pillow. I put mine over it and made our palms touch, his hands were a little bit smaller than mine but not by much. Kei made a noise in his sleep and threaded his fingers in between mine; I grasped him back and closed my eyes.

 _I love him._

 _I wanna stay like this for a long time._

Opening my eyes, I realized that wasn't going to be a possibility because Kei would wake up, so I begrudgingly got up. I looked back at Kei as I left his room, I won't feel okay if I leave him before the fever breaks so I guess the couch is going to be my home for the next couple hours.

* * *

 **Kei's POV:**

Aomine had been abnormally nice while I was sick; I woke a couple times and he always brought me water and more soup every time, he even stayed until I was at a normal body temperature. I think it was because he felt like it was his fault that I was sick, but I wish he wouldn't put all the blame on himself. I was the one who made the intelligent decision to stay in the rain even after my umbrella broke, even though I felt like I didn't have a choice because I didn't want him to show up and I wasn't there.

It'd been a couple days since then, and I was anxiously awaiting an opportunity to see him again. I know I'd said we were friends, but other than the beach trip and the convention we hadn't done anything together outside of studying. I wish I had the confidence to go up to the roof and maybe have lunch with him, but I wasn't sure if I'd be welcome. It seemed like he went up there to get away from people. I'd encroached on his personal time when I was tutoring him, but that was me trying to get him to care about his classes, this was a different thing entirely. I'm good at talking to people about things that don't affect me, but anything beyond the surface I have no idea how to deal with. I'm generally incapable of forming a close bond with someone and Aomine's not extremely personable like Kazunari is, so I'm unsure how two emotionally unavailable people form a relationship.

After another day spent Aomine-less, I was sulking in my apartment when Taiga knocked on the door, "Hey Kei, are you doing anything right now?" he asked me.

"No," I said trying to keep my voice up as to not alert him I was in absolute despair over Aomine and I's almost nonexistent friendship.

"Great! My team and I are going to this basketball tournament, do you want to come?" he asked.

"Sure," I said grabbing a jacket and following him out the door.

"So," I said when we reached the destination, "Is your team participating or are we just watching?"

"Only the first years are competing, with the addition of Kiyoshi," Taiga answered.

I nodded in understanding, and tried my best to look happy. While I was excited to watch Taiga play, this was the sort of thing I wish I could invite Aomine to, but he and Taiga can't stand each other. Aomine probably wouldn't enjoy it anyway, if playing in official games is a bore to him I can imagine a simple tournament like this is a snoozefest.

"Ah, that's a team we played before," Taiga commented.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Seiho," he answered and then I saw his eyes go wide, "Tastuya…."

I immediately recognized the name because Taiga had talked to me about his brother in America before, "I didn't know he was in Japan…" Taiga said.

"Oh," I said understanding the situation, "Seiho lost," I observed.

"I'm going to go talk to him, stay with my team," he ordered.

"Okay," I said looking around me and recognizing no one except the captain that greeted me hostilely one time.

I stood next to him and watched as Taiga and Himuro had a discussion in English. I could only understand snippets of it, the only definitive part I got was that Himuro said if he lost their next match they wouldn't be brothers anymore. I looked at Kuroko standing next to him and couldn't help but think of how sympathetic their characters are. If Kuroko doesn't win against Aomine he'll lose him, and if Taiga wins against Himuro he loses his brother. Such sadness around them. In the middle of this sadness my phone rang, "Kei here," I answered it.

"Kei, are you anywhere close to the school?" I heard someone say.

I looked around, "I'm not too far, may I ask who this is?"

"It's the garden club president, I just checked the weather and the forecast calls for rain, but none of the club members can get to the school to cover the plants. Do you think you could do it?" she asked.

"Really? The sky looks so clear," I muttered looking up before saying, "Of course, I'll get right on it."

After hanging up the phone I thought of telling Taiga's teammates to tell him I had to leave, but one look at the irritated captain made me rethink. The game hasn't started yet, so I can just go tell him myself. As I walked up things began to get tense between Taiga and Himuro, halfway there a gigantic purple haired guy appear and I considered turning back. I saw him ruffle Kuroko's hair.

 _Oh, he comes in peace. Forge ahead Kei._

Kuroko slapped his hand away.

 _Maybe not so peaceful, you can do this. Just try not to get caught up in anything._

I was just about to the middle of the court when the giant tore out some of Taiga's eyebrow and I regretted my decision at once, but I was too far in to turn back now. Taiga looked like he was ready to be violent when I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "What?" he growled before turning to me, "Sorry Kei, didn't know it was you."

"It's okay," I said, but before I could tell him I had to go the giant interrupted, "Ne Kuro-chin, is this another one of your teammates? He doesn't look like much."

I was caught off guard by his childish way of speaking and slightly hurt by his words. "He's not," Kuroko answered plainly.

"I don't go to Seirin," I elaborated.

The giant cocked his head, "Then where do you go?"

"Touou," I answered.

"So you're Mine-chin's teammate? I don't remember seeing you play, what's your name?" he asked.

"Mine-chin?" I questioned.

"Murasakibara-kun means Aomine-kun," Kuroko explained.

I nodded and turned back to the giant, "I don't play basketball, but I do tutor Aomine. And my name's Sakamoto Kei."

"You don't play basketball? Why? You're tall," he said.

I laughed, "You haven't seen how uncoordinated I am."

He stared at me blankly while eating a potato chip, before digging into the plastic bag hanging off his forearm, "Moto-chin, you seem nice," he said handing me a piece of candy.

"Thank you," I said in a confused tone as I took the candy and then repeated the nickname, "Moto-chin…"

I turned to Taiga, "Did you hear that? It's three syllables," I said joyfully.

Taiga gave me an apathetic look before saying, "I'm happy for you, but why are you out here?" he asked.

"Oh, I have to go back to the school for the plants," I said.

"I'm not even gonna ask, bye," Taiga said.

I waved to him before making my way back to the school. Halfway there it started raining so I started running. I got to the garden before any serious flooding managed to happen, and I began placing the plastic covers over the plants. Three minutes in, I felt the water stop pouring on me and a deep voice ask, "Didn't you learn your lesson last time?

I turned around to see that Aomine was closer to me than I anticipated, our chests were almost touching, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked me with a pissed off face.

"I had to cover the plants or they'd get overwatered," I answered timidly.

"Tch, here," he said handing me the umbrella, "Let me do it," he grumbled going out into the rain.

 **Aomine's POV:**

I don't know what the hell he was thinking, he could get really sick again. I'd turned away from him spread the cover over the stupid ass plants, but I stopped when a shadow came over me. I looked back and saw Kei standing close to me and holding the umbrella over us, "I don't want you to get sick either," he said.

I blushed and turned away again, hurriedly trying to get all the greenery safe from the rain. I finished a couple minutes later and we rushed inside the school, I handed Kei one of my towels because he was wet, "Don't do that again," I reprimanded.

"I understand," he sighed as he started drying off his hair.

I'd be lying if I said the sight of Kei using my sweat stained towel didn't turn me on but it's not like I can do anything about it, so I just sat down grumpily.

"Aomine, are you okay?" Kei asked me.

"Why?" I said tiredly.

"I don't know, you seem more...frowny than usual," he said dropping the towel in my lap and sitting down next to me.

"Satsuki and I got into a fight," I said.

"You and Momoi? Why?" he asked concerned.

I sighed, "She's mad at me and I'm mad at her."

"I know why she's mad at you, but why are you mad at her?" he questioned.

"She's the one who told coach to bench me the rest of the Interhigh," I explained.

Kei was quiet for a moment, "Aomine," he said softly.

"I know," I said, "But I just can't help but feel angry."

"I understand," he said soothingly.

"I know she did it so I won't get injured," I said.

He touched my arm, "Was it bad?"

I chuckled darkly, "She called me a stupid ganguro and threw a book at me."

Kei laughed and then covered his mouth when I looked at him, "Sorry Aomine, I couldn't help it," he said smiling, "But Momoi loves you lots, so just apologize to her. She won't be mad forever."

I gave him a small smile, "Thanks Kei."

Kei looked down the hall we were sitting in, "Do you think the rain has let up a little bit? I have to go to work," he asked.

"Hell no," I answered and then handed him my umbrella, "Here, use this."

"Don't you need it?" he asked worriedly.

"Nah, Satsuki just texted me so I'm gonna hang around here and we're gonna talk. She always keeps an umbrella in her locker, but she forgot it when she ran out so it's still here," I said.

"She ran out in the rain and you didn't run after her?" Kei asked me.

"No?" I said standing up as he did.

He shook his head at me, "For shame Aomine, for shame."

I chuckled, "Whatever," I said giving Kei a one armed hug around the waist, "But seriously, thank you."

He returned the hug with both of his arms and I shivered as I felt him grip my jacket slightly, "You're welcome," he said softly and then turned around and left.

Satsuki came ten minutes after Kei left, "What the hell is that?" I asked laughing and pointing at the bear t-shirt she was wearing that was obviously too big for her.

She glared at me, "Are you just going to keep being an idiot?"

I stopped laughing, "No, I'm sorry."

"Good," she huffed and leaned against the wall, "What's been up with you these past couple of days? You've been more irritable than normal."

"I'm just going through something," I sighed.

She looked at me with sad eyes, "You know, there was a time you used to tell me when you were going through something. When you used to talk about how you were feeling."

If she's looking at me like that, fuck it. "I'm in love with Kei," I said.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "What?" she nearly yelled.

"You heard me," I grumbled.

"Are you sure you're not just curious or-" she started to ask.

"I'm in love with him," I said firmly, looking her in the eye.

She looked at me for a moment before nodding her head and asking, "When are you going to tell him?"

"I'm not," I said.

She looked at me shocked, "Why?"

"Because Satsuki, he already said he wouldn't date me and he doesn't think of me like that," I said.

"Things change, you don't know what he'd say if you told him," she said.

"I don't want to know," I said sternly.

"Fine, I won't push it," she sighed, "Besides, knowing you, if you really love him you won't be able to keep quiet. I shouldn't have to wait long."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I growled.

She gave me a smirk, "Kei's a good looking guy, do you honestly think with your personality you're going to be able to let him be close to other people without letting him know he's yours?"

* * *

Hello, I just want to thank all the people who read/favorite/follow and review this story. To **imachii11229** , Kei didn't skip a grade, he's a year older than Aomine and all the other knb freshman but this poor child was just so out of it in middle school he spent a whole week in a class without realizing he was in a second year class, not a third year one where he should've been. To **S. Rune,** Kamiko is so savage everything she says is a ko lol, and I'm glad you thought Takao was Kei's ex because that's what I was going for, I wanted to wait until the end to reveal Wakamatsu. Yes, Aomine was kinda horrible last chapter, but I hope he's in your good graces again with the amount of fluff he provided this time around. To **HerBrokenSmile,** yes the ex is revealed at last, Aomine and Kei will have a more in depth conversation about his relationship with Wakamatsu later because I don't think Aomine could handle it right now lol. Thanks, and I'll try to keep updating quickly because thankfully the holidays have given me free time to write. To **Keelan1210,** I'm happy you like the friendship between Takao and Kei, I thought his personality would really compliment Kei's and I liked the idea that while Kei's pretty introverted, Takao's influence gave him more confidence to speak to people easier. And Takao's sister is a gem, she's either completely clueless on how being bisexual works or she thinks Kei's next significant other should be her lol. To **Bob,** thank you, I'm so happy that you're able to see clearly what's going on with Kei because he's a more complex character than I'm used to writing and sometimes I wonder if things are coming across enough. Kei's pretty disconnected from a lot of his emotions, so I'm guessing the fact he didn't even register he was upset made the last part even sadder, but hopefully this chapter had a happier vibe. To **Guest** , I'll try to update this as often as possible, and the other two things I have on here are completed so I don't know the other stories you're talking about.


	9. Chapter 9

**Kei's POV:**

Occasionally, I am forced out of the comfort of my very solitary regimented life. Maybe every other month, a small group of student council presidents in Tokyo will get together and sit at a table with some food; discussing the seemingly never ending woes and responsibilities of a president. I'm normally okay with these little parties; I never fit in because I actually enjoy helping people without reward, but I get by nonetheless.

Then there comes a time usually once a year, when a very rich student council president of a very fancy school decides on a whim that he or she will throw an elaborate dinner party for all the student presidents of the top schools in Japan. I'm the student council president of a Touou; a high ranking school academically, athletically, and socially. Therefore, I am invited and socially obligated to go to this event that almost certainly requires me to wear a suit; at least this year the location was only an hour outside of Tokyo so I didn't have to spend a lot of time traveling.

After almost two hours of smiling and conversing with people who were way too rich for their own good, I had resigned myself to a dark corner in hopes of getting some peace and quiet. Those hopes were dashed however, when I spotted a president I'd been chatting with earlier walking around with someone I didn't recognize. He was scanning the room nervously, looking for someone to pawn his company off on and I silently prayed he wouldn't see me because a bad part of being nice to people all the time is that I'm basically a drop off site for people who no one wants to talk to. "Kei!" I cringed as he called my name.

"We meet again," I said forcing a smile on my face.

"We do," he said happily and then turned to the boy he was with, "You two haven't met each other yet have you?"

"I don't think so," I said extending my hand, "I'm Sakamoto Kei, it's nice to meet your acquaintance."

"Akashi Seijuro," the redheaded boy said without bothering to lift his hand.

I awkwardly put my hand down, "You know, you two have a lot in common. Akashi's a first year student president," he said to me and then turning to Akashi explained, "Kei was in that same position last year."  
"Yep," I said cheerfully.

"I think I'm going to get something to drink," the guy said and I watched him go, knowing full well that he was never coming back.

"So," I said with a smile, "Which school do you go to?"

"Rakuzan," he answered.

"Wow, that's a great school. You must be very accomplished to be student council president there," I praised.

"Accomplished?" he said raising an eyebrow and then smirking, "No, I am simply the best choice."

"I see," I said nervously, "Well whatever the case, being a student president when you're a first year can be hard, but just keeping working hard and you'll get the respect you deserve."

"Oh, I don't have an issue with respect. I am absolute, I don't leave any room for anyone to not respect me," he said darkly.

I shivered involuntarily and understood why this kid had been ditched, he's possibly a future serial killer. It's okay Kei, just carry on like normal. "That's great," I said happily, "I'm the student council president at Touou."

"I've heard of you," Akashi said in a tone that scared me.

"All good things I hope," I said apprehensively.

"You're popular with your students," Akashi stated.

"Not really, I just try and take care of them the best I can," I said smiling.

"Hm," he said giving me a disapproving look, "Well, it's obvious we have two different ways of running our schools."  
"Uh, yeah," I said in agreeance.

"Lunch is being served. Come," he ordered.

"Yes," I said walking behind him subserviently.

"Akashi, what do you like to do in your free time? You seem like a serious minded individual," I said sitting down.

Akashi sat next to me saying, "Winning is my hobby."

I blinked at him a few times, "Okay," I said looking away.

"I do enjoy shogi and horseback riding," he added after I'd looked away.

I turned to him smiling, "That sounds really interesting. I've never ridden a horse before, but I imagine it's a pretty majestic experience."

Akashi gave me a small smile, "You remind me of a horse. Gentle and timid."

"Thank you," I said deciding to take it as the redhead's way of giving me a compliment.

I started as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Taking a peek at who had texted me, I was shocked to see it was Aomine. He'd never texted me before except when we were confirming dates and times for studying, but there was no need for that now. Looking around and realizing that no one was paying attention to me, I opened the text:

 _12:52 PM: Are you busy?_

I really couldn't believe my luck, why, out of all days, did Aomine have to text me when I was at this event?

 _12:53 PM: kinda_

I waited anxiously for a response. I hope he doesn't think I'm avoiding him, or ignoring him.

 _12:53 PM: Oh, ok_

Oh no, he definitely sounded disappointed.

 _12:54 PM: Why? I'm stuck at this stuffy event and any excuse to leave would be nice :)_

Was the smiley face too much? Do I look too desperate? Crap, he probably thinks I want to jump in his pants now. I mean I do, but I don't want him to know that.

 _12:55 PM: There's a basketball game. Shutoku vs. Seirin. Thought you might wanna watch with me_

Shutoku and Seirin? That means Kazu and Taiga are going to be playing. I can't pass that up, let alone getting to spend time with Aomine outside of school. "Texting at a time like this is rude," I heard Akashi's voice reprimanded me.

"Sorry," I muttered, "It's just something kind of important."

"Important?" Akashi asked me.

I tugged at my hair saying, "Oh, just something with the ace of our basketball team, you know how that can be."

"Something to do with Daiki?" he asked.

My eyes widened, Daiki? So he knew Aomine? And he called him by his first name? "Yeah," I answered and then asked, "You know him?"

Akashi frowned, "Unfortunately. I was his captain on the Teiko basketball team and while he's a good player, his rowdiness was hard to deal with."

Oh, so that explains it. My phone vibrated in my hand again and I looked down.

 _1:02 PM: Oi, if you can't come say so. Don't just stop texting_

I looked up at Akashi's amused face before quickly texting back:

 _1:02 PM: Sorry, I was being scolded. I'll try to come._

 _1:03 PM: Who the hell is scolding you?_

 _1:03 PM: Akashi Seijuro_

 _1:03 PM: You're with Akashi?_

 _1:04 PM: Yes_

 _1:04 PM: Get out of there. Now._

"You know Kei, if you need to go tend to an emergency, just go," Akashi said smirking at me.

An hour later and several texts sent reassuring Aomine that I was completely fine, I arrived at the building I was supposed to...at least I hope it is. It's got so many tunnels and I don't know where the hell I am; the angry texts from Aomine are not helping either. As I tried my best to traverse through the complicated building, all of a sudden there was a beacon of light, also known as the tall frame of a basketball player. "Excuse me!" I shouted as I ran up to him, "I'm lost do you think you could help me?" I said laughing.

Green eyes framed by glasses like my own looked at me before turning away. I saw him push his glasses up with his finger before muttering, "It would seem...we're in the same predicament nanodayo."

"Really…" I said in a dejected voice.

I would've been happier to share my poor navigation skills if the guy didn't seem so grumpy. He wasn't grumpy like Aomine, who was adorable when he was crabby, but this guy was grumpy in a standoffish way. He had green hair, his fingers were wrapped which was weird, and his orange uniform made him look like a carrot...orange uniform, "Shin-chan!" I said pointing at him with a sudden burst of memory.

He cringed noticeably, "Don't call me that."

I laughed, "Sorry, I don't know what else to call you."

"I'm Midorima Shintarou," he introduced himself.

"I'm Sakamoto Kei," I replied and said, "Um, should we try to find the way out of here together? You have a game starting soon right?"

"Do you mind if I join you? I'm lost too," a shaky voice said behind us.

Midorima and I turned around to see a brown haired male with wide eyes wearing a uniform I immediately recognized as Seirin's, "I've met you before haven't I?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm Furihata Kouki," he said timidly.

"Come on then," I said to both of them, feeling the need to lead because I was the oldest, "There's no shame in getting lost."

 **Aomine's POV:**

Where the hell was he? He said he got to the building, but then that he got lost. How do you get lost, there are signs everywhere. I finally just texted him to make his way outside and I would wait for him. So here I am, waiting for him. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea, I mean Kei doesn't even play any sports. I'm sure he finds this boring as shit, but I don't know what else to do. Too much time was passing, it'd been weeks since we saw each other. I kept hoping maybe he'd climb up on the roof one day and have lunch with me, but on the other hand what would we talk about? I thought about inviting him to a movie, but I don't know which kind he likes, or what type of food he likes. The only thing I know he likes is anime but I know next to nothing about that. Even though he probably won't like this I couldn't help myself, I missed him and I wanted to see him. "Hey, you're Aomine Daiki right?" I heard someone next to me say.

He was a player from Shutoku, "Yeah, what's it to you?" I replied.

He smiled slyly and looked at me out of the corner of his eye, "Oh nothing, just wondering what you're doing out here."

"Waiting for someone," I answered gruffly.

"Oh what a coincidence, I'm waiting for someone too," he laughed and went silent, eyeing me again.

When I heard the doors open, I thought that it might be one of this guy's teammates and hopefully he'd leave me the hell alone, but it was Kagami. And he just had to come up to us. "Hey Kagami," the black haired Shutoku player said, "What are you doing?"

"We lost one of my teammates," Kagami answered, taking the time to glare at me.

I glared back as the guy laughed, "We did too, we lost Shin-chan."

Kagami looked startled, "Midorima?"

"Yeah, he wandered off never to be heard from again," the guy laughed and then turned to me again, "So Aomine, you have a girlfriend?"

I was caught off guard by his comment, "No," I grumbled.

"Do you consider yourself to be a good boyfriend?" he asked.

What the fuck is this guy's deal? Who the hell asks shit like that? "Takao, what's with the weird questions?" Kagami asked him.

Takao turned to Kagami, "Weird? They're pretty normal to me, oh, is that? SHIN-CHAN!" he started waving at an approaching figure who I recognized as Midorima.

I could care less about Midorima, I was more focused on the figure next to him. Mesmerized would be a better word than focused. Kei had told me he was at a stuffy event, but I hadn't completely prepared myself to see him in a suit. True to form, Kei was wearing our school colors, a simple black suit with a blood red collared shirt underneath. The suit seemed to hug every fucking curve on his body and he looked sexy as hell. I wish I could tell him that and watch his face turn as red as his shirt. "Kei-chan!" I heard that guy named Takao yell as he went up to him and gave him a hug.

"Kazu," my brow furrowed as Kei responded with a pet name.

I glared at the annoying Takao as he released Kei from the hug. I was not okay with him touching Kei, and I certainly was not okay with him referring to him so affectionately. "I believe this belongs to you," Kei said to Kagami as a smallish guy emerged from behind him and skittered over to Kagami.

"Thanks," Kagami said and left with the guy in tow.

I turned my head back to Takao, "Shin-chan, I hope you weren't mean to Kei-chan. He's my best friend you know," I heard him say.

A small sigh of relief escaped from my lips, so they were just friends. Midorima's face crinkled in distaste, "I should've known it was your doing when he called me by that disgusting name."

"Shin-chan's such a tsundere, he really loves my nickname," I heard him whisper to Kei.

"Let's go Takao," Midorima said sternly, "I left my lucky item with Kimura and I don't feel secure without it."

"I'm coming, I'm coming, but let me lead the way. You already got lost once," Takao said running to Midorima.

Kei looked at me, "Sorry about getting here so late."

"I-t's fine," I coughed, trying to figure out how to talk to him in that suit.

"Thanks for inviting me," he said smiling.

I looked him over, there were no visible marks from his meeting with Akashi but I wonder how he's doing emotionally, "Should we go in?" he asked me.

I smiled softly, "Yeah. You'll like this game, Midorima only shoots three pointers," I said walking beside him.

"So if he was the only one to score on his team it'd be divisible by three?" he asked.

I chuckled, "Yeah."

"Do you think they'd do that if I went and asked?" he asked me with big eyes and I almost didn't have the heart to tell him no.

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

I never thought this day would come. As Satsuki opened the door in front of us I felt a unique sense of the tables being turned. "How did you get his key again?" I asked walking into the apartment.

Satsuki turned to me, "From his stalker."

"How do you know he has a stalker?" I asked her.

"How do I know the vital statistics of almost a third of all male high school students in Japan?" she asked me like it was obvious.

I rolled my eyes, "It's so neat," Satsuki commented as she walked over to the door.

"No," I said quickly jumping in front of her, "I'll do it."

"Jeez," she said taking a step back as I opened the door only enough so I could slip through.

My eyes were assaulted by anime as soon as I walked in the room, and I felt like I made the right call in not letting Satsuki come in. The only reason I'd ever seen Kei's room was because I forced my way in. I walked over to his bed, his blanket was at his waist and he was shirtless. The body pillow he was hugging in his sleep distracted me from his half naked form for about thirty seconds, but I soon found myself blushing at Kei's body. I touched his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up, but ended up running my hand down his back in awe of how soft his skin was. He shivered and buried his face further into the pillow, "You better not be doing anything weird in there," I heard Satsuki say from the other side of the door I and jerked my hand back.

I recovered quickly and shook his shoulder saying, "Kei."

His face scrunched up cutely before he blinked his eyes slowly, "Aomine?" he asked confused.

I didn't reply because I was too busy admiring Kei's eyes, this is one of the few times I've seen him without his glasses on and I was able to see just how pretty they were. He rubbed his eyes and grabbed his glasses, "What are you doing here?" he asked while yawning.

I smirked evilly, "Getting revenge."

"What?" he asked cocking his head.

"Since you seem to like tracking me down and forcing me to do things, I thought I could do the same to you for a change. Grab an extra pair of clothes and come outside," I said.

"Wait, what are we doing?" he asked.

"Satsuki's family and mine are going camping in the mountains. You're coming," I answered.

"Are you sure you want me to come along? I've never been camping before," he said in an unsure tone.

"Be ready in five minutes," I ordered as I walked out of the room.

Three hours later, and I wished Kei was a little more athletic than he was. It's not like he was holding anyone up, he was just hanging back with Satsuki, her mom, and my mom while I was stuck up ahead with Satsuki's father and mine. I invited him because I wanted to spend time with him, but I hadn't been able to talk to him since we started our hike to the campsite. I couldn't hang back with him because then my dad would ask why I was lagging and it's not like I could say I wanted to be near the guy I love. Satsuki's mother wasn't helping, she of course loved Kei like everyone does, but she was practically trying to marry him and Satsuki off right there and it was pissing me off.

I was grateful when we finally reached the campsite, "Daiki, why don't you and Kei go down to the river and try to catch something for dinner while the rest of us set up," my dad suggested.

I nodded, "I doubt your dad knows he's being the ultimate wingman right now," Satsuki whispered to me.

"Shut up," I hissed at her as Kei came up to me.

"What are we catching?" Kei asked as he followed me down to the river.

"Maybe some fish, probably mostly crayfish," I answered.

"Crayfish? Are they going to be alive?" he asked.

I chuckled, "Yeah, why?"

He frowned, "They scare me."

I couldn't help but laugh at that point, "They're not even the size of your hand, why are you scared of them?"

He flushed red, "It's their claws, I feel like they're plotting something."

I smiled, "I'm good at catching them, so just look out for the occasional fish."

He nodded as we arrived at the body of water, "It's so pretty, I understand why you spent a lot of time here when you were a kid."

"Yeah," I said admiring the rushing river and sunny, cloudless sky with him, "Enjoy it now, it's gonna get too cold to camp in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, I guess we're lucky the warm spell has lasted this long," he said laughing.

"Yeah," I responded quietly.

 **Kei's POV:**

I was enjoying the scenery of the river while Aomine set things up when I heard him curse and jump behind me. I looked at him curiously, "What's the matter?" I asked him.

He looked at me, "There's a bee."

I laughed, "So? Don't tell me you're scared of-"

"I hate bees," he said.

"There's no need to be scared, they're more frightened of you than you are of them," I reassured him.

"Bullshit," he growled.

Just as he finished saying that, the bee he was talking about buzzed over and landed smoothly on his neck. "Aomine, be still," I told him as his eyes went wide.

"Don't tell me that," he growled.

"They're not even the size of your hand, why are you scared of them?" I said sarcastically.

One glare from Aomine told me my joke was not appreciated, "Okay, just hold on," I said leaning into him and softly blowing on his neck.

"W-what are you doing?" Aomine asked.

"It's a trick I learned, they don't sting you if you blow on them to get them off," I explained as the bee flew away peacefully.

"Where'd you learn that?," he asked rubbing his neck.

"The internet, this was my first time trying it out. I guess it works," I said smiling.

Aomine frowned at me and went back to grabbing different things that I had no idea what they were. I watched on curiously as he cursed again, preparing myself for another bee attack. He turned to me, "I forgot the net at the site."

I stood up from the rock I was sitting on, "I'll go back and get it."

He gave me a concerned look, "Are you sure?"

I nodded at him and headed into the slightly wooded area we'd come from. As I walked I couldn't help but feel how hot my cheeks were beginning to get. Even though it was a completely platonic gesture, being that close to Aomine still flustered the heck out of me. Although that was partially his fault, he'd been so affectionate lately. Or at least affectionate for him, he'd hugged me like twice now...maybe-

I was so caught up in my thoughts I ran face first into a tree. I rubbed my throbbing forehead and decided to take it as a sign; don't let yourself fall for straight guys. It was at that exact moment that I realized that I'd wandered off the trail and had no idea where I was. Even though all of the nature survival shows said staying in one place was the best way to get found, I decided to try and find the trail myself.

I was not successful, I just ended up walking in what seemed like a never ending circle. After some time passed, I heard shouting and a ray of hope flashed before my eyes. That ray of hope came in the form of teenage boys that ran right by me, "Wait, isn't that…" I began to ask out loud before I turned to what they were running from.

"Why the hell aren't you running!?" I rugged looking brown haired man yelled at me.

It wasn't the fact that he was yelling at me that had me fearing for my life, it was the gun he was waving around. "Well?!" he shouted, pointing the gun at me.

I put my hands up, "I don't know what's going on," I said.

"Mr. Aida! Kei's not on our team!" a familiar face said running up to us.

"Thank you Furihata," I said in relief.

"Why'd you stop running?" Mr. Aida yelled at Furihata.

"Sorry Kei," he said to me as he ran past quickly.

Mr. Aida scratched the back of his head with his gun, "Sorry kid, you were tall so I just assumed…"

"It's fine," I said smiling, "But do you think you could point me to the trail?" I asked him.

"Right's the main trail and left is the river," he said walking by me.

I decided to go left so I could get back to Aomine, I hope I hadn't worried him or anything. I reached the river easily enough and just walked North from there until I saw him in the distance. Running up to him I realized it wasn't Aomine, but his dad, "There you are, I knew you'd find your way back," he said once he noticed me.

"I got a little lost," I said.

He nodded and said gruffly, "I kept telling Daiki someone as big as you would be fine in the woods, but he insisted on running after you and left me to catch dinner, last time I saw him he was further up the trail."

I nodded, "I'm gonna go find him."

"Just don't get lost again," he said laughing as I left him.

Five minutes later I was making my way up the mountain when I heard my name being called by a voice that was unmistakably Aomine's. I yelled back and he appeared soon after, running up to me and pulling me into a hug so tight it actually lifted me off the ground, "Don't do that again," he said breathlessly.

 **Aomine's POV:**

"Don't do that again," I breathed into Kei's ear.

Kei grabbed my shirt, "I'm sorry."

I let him go, "You have dirt on your forehead," I observed.

"Is it gone?" he asked, rubbing it with his arm.

"No," I answered, licking my thumb and cleaning the dirt off, "There."

He blushed, "Thanks."

I smirked at him, "Come on, I think dinner's ready."

After a warm meal and after Satsuki's and my parents went to go sleep in their tents Kei turned to me and Satsuki, "There's not another tent?" he asked.

We smiled at him, "There's a reason why I like camping in the mountains more than anywhere else," I said, pulling him onto a small hill where Satsuki had made all of our sleeping bags into one mattress.

"Wow," Kei said looking up at the sky.

"It's better when you lay down," I said motioning for him to lay down in between Satsuki and I.

I grinned as he looked up wide eyed, I know exactly what he's feeling. It's one of the reasons I love it here so much. A completely unobstructed view of a black starry night is what he was seeing, and looking up makes you feel like there's nothing but empty space around you. "I think he liked it," Satsuki said.

"Yeah," I said looking at Kei's now sleeping face.

"I still think you should tell him," she said.

"I thought we already talked about this," I scowled.

"I've seen the way he looks at you and I can't keep my mouth shut anymore. Aomine-kun, he wouldn't blush every time you touch him if he only saw you as a friend," she said.

"Just drop it," I said.

Kei made a small noise in his sleep and rolled over into my chest, "God has spoken," Satsuki said.

"Shut up," I grumbled.

"Well he didn't roll over to cuddle with _me_ ," she said as I wrapped an arm around Kei.

* * *

 **Aomine's POV:**

It was hard for me to get through the next month and a half because coach was having us practice every spare moment, and Kei had encouraged me to go. I felt he was right when he told me Seirin had been practicing hard and I should try to prepare too. I almost can't believe I was allowing myself to get excited about the upcoming game we had with them.

I did get through it though, and that was because I suggested that Kei teach Satsuki how to cook and that meant he started hanging around the gym during practice. It was a positive for me on all points; Satsuki's food was still horrible, but I got to see Kei, eat his food, and make Wakamatsu uncomfortable.

After all that, it was finally the day of the game and I just wanted to hurry up and win this one and the one after that. After I'm done with all this shit, I can have time to spend with Kei. Akashi had called a meeting for all of the generation of miracles, so I had to deal with that before I could even play. I was surprised to see Kagami trailing behind Tetsu, he obviously has never met Akashi. I grew amused as Kagami and Akashi got into it and watched passively as Akashi borrowed Midorima's scissors and used them to cut his bangs and then assaulted Kagami. "Kei," I heard Akashi say.

The blonde had been walking up the stairs, completely oblivious to our presence. "Akashi," he said in greeting as he walked up to us.

"Taiga, what happened to your cheek?" he asked the redhead and then his eyes traveled to Akashi and the scissors he was holding.

My lax posture was gone as I walked over to Kei and stood by him protectively, "Hey Kei," Kagami said.

"Sakamoto-kun," Tetsu said.

"Kei-kun," Satsuki said happily.

"Keicchi," Kise said excitedly.

"Kei," Midorima acknowledged as he pushed up his glasses.

"Moto-chin," Murasakibara said lazily.

"Hello," he greeted all of them back and then turned to me, "I'm going to go find a seat up front. Good luck!" he said smiling and then scampered up the stairs.

"Was that Kei?" another Seirin teammate asked behind Kagami.

I was tempted to ask how the hell everyone seemed to know Kei, but I decided to let it drop. Kei was nice, he knew a lot of people; right now I needed to focus on the game ahead.

 **Kei's POV:**

Aomine and Taiga's match was electric from the very beginning, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was so enthralled by those two, I didn't even pay attention to the scoreboard until I heard the buzzer indicate that it was the end of the game. Aomine's shocked expression told me that Seirin had won, and when I looked at the score they'd defeated us by one point. Looking back at Aomine, I didn't know what to feel; on one hand I felt bad for him but I also felt like he need to lose.

Seeing him and Kuroko bump fists reassured me that it was a good thing, but I couldn't stop worrying about Aomine as I watched him walk off the court in a very catatonic way. I rushed from the stands and found him in the hall outside the Touou locker room. "Aomine?" I asked softly.

He looked at me, "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he replied in a whisper.

"I don't know," he repeated, "I don't know, I don't know what I'm supposed to be if I'm not the ace."

I smiled and stood next to him, leaning on the wall, "You're Aomine. And just because we lost doesn't mean you're not the ace anymore. And I said _we_ for a reason, you're not alone even if you feel like it. You're part of a team, you're part of a school. Stop taking everything on all by yourself."

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it as a few tears ran down his face, "So you're not disappointed?" he asked me.

"Of course not, you're the most talented person I've ever met Aomine. Nothing will change that," I said smiling at him.

After I finished that sentence Aomine was suddenly in front of me. And then his arms were suddenly around my waist. And suddenly his lips were on mine. My eyes widened in shock before I slowly closed them and wrapped my arms around his neck. The question of why he was doing this ran through my mind, but my own pounding heartbeat drowned it out. My face grew hot and I felt like my stomach had left my body and there was a huge void in my abdomen as Aomine broke the kiss and buried his face in my neck. "I'm sorry Kei, couldn't help it," I shivered as he whispered in my ear.

He removed himself from my body and looked me in the eye," I love you."

I almost went completely deaf with shock, how did he feel this way and I didn't notice? He started saying something about how he understands I don't feel the same way, so I grabbed him by his jersey and gently pulled him into another kiss. "Don't assume things," I said letting him go.

He gave me a surprised look before smirking smugly, "I'm taking you on a date on Sunday."

I blushed and smiled softly, "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Hi there, I just want to thank all the people who read/favorite/follow this story, especially the people who review. To **imacchi11229** , yeah, Aomine's pretty lucky he was able to provide some fluff last chapter or his ass would've been in the doghouse for a long time and I'm glad you liked Kei's reaction to his nickname. To **Keelan1210** , yes, the mystery scent has finally been revealed lol, and as you can probably see from this chapter, Aomine's patience lasted for about a minute. To **Bob** , thank you and I'm happy you liked Aomine's sweetness last chapter, and the more jealousy is coming, so much more jealousy. To **Morning-Star57** , I'm glad you liked it, and that was a precious moment with Momoi at the end I'm happy you found it funny. To **Soysuke** , thank you so much, that was so nice and I'm super happy that you like it this much. To **Guest** , thank you so much, I felt like Aomine had to be the first one to realize because Kei pretty much viewed Aomine as the quintessential straight guy so I'm glad that turned out okay. And oh my gosh, the coach being his ex would've been so dramatic, that would've been so beautiful, but I'm glad you're okay with Wakamatsu.


End file.
